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 Tarale Wulff, a model and former cocktail waitress, is not one
of the two women Weinstein is charged with assaulting. But she
is one of three women who prosecutors are calling to bolster
their case against Weinstein by trying to provide evidence of
his motives or methods.
"As a former prosecutor myself, I have no doubt that Ms. Wulff
will be a highly credible witness with a disturbing and
compelling account of what she was forced to endure at the hands
of Harvey Weinstein," her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said in a
statement last week.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting
Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann. Since 2017, more than 80 women,
including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of
sexual misconduct.
The accusations fueled the #MeToo movement, in which women have
accused powerful men in business, entertainment, media and
politics of sexual misconduct. Weinstein's trial is widely seen
as an important milestone in the movement.
Weinstein, who produced “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare
in Love,” has denied the allegations and said any sexual
encounters were consensual.
Jurors in the trial have already heard from Haleyi, who worked
as a production assistant on the television show "Project
Runway." She testified on Monday that Weinstein invited her to
his Manhattan home in July 2006 and attacked her, backing her
into a bedroom and forcing oral sex on her.
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They have also heard from actress Annabella Sciorra, known for her
role on HBO's "The Sopranos," who testified last week that Weinstein
forced his way into her Manhattan apartment one winter night in 1993
or 1994 and violently raped her.
While Sciorra's allegation is too old to support a separate rape
charge against Weinstein, prosecutors hope it will show he is a
repeat sexual predator - a charge that could put him in prison for
life.
Weinstein's lawyers have sought to undermine the women's allegations
through cross-examination, emphasizing that Sciorra did not report
her alleged rape to authorities and that Haleyi remained in contact
with Weinstein after her alleged assault, at times asking him for
jobs.
Mann, a former aspiring actress, has not yet testified. Prosecutors
have said Weinstein raped her in 2013.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder
and Sonya Hepinstall)
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