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| Weinstein Trial Begins With Vivid Descriptions of Several Sexual Attacks | Weinstein Trial Begins With Vivid Descriptions of Several Sexual Attacks |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| In Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was a man of seemingly infinite power, not only making Oscar-winning films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” but also helping make careers. | In Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was a man of seemingly infinite power, not only making Oscar-winning films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” but also helping make careers. |
| But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit. | But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit. |
| “The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein. | “The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein. |
| Ms. Hast offered graphic details about several assaults. Before one attack, she said, Mr. Weinstein injected erection medication into his genitals. On another occasion, he showed up uninvited outside the hotel room of the actress Annabella Sciorra. He was in his underwear, with baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. | Ms. Hast offered graphic details about several assaults. Before one attack, she said, Mr. Weinstein injected erection medication into his genitals. On another occasion, he showed up uninvited outside the hotel room of the actress Annabella Sciorra. He was in his underwear, with baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. |
| Mr. Weinstein tried to force a third victim into having sex with him and his assistant by telling her, “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast said. | Mr. Weinstein tried to force a third victim into having sex with him and his assistant by telling her, “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast said. |
| But a defense lawyer, Damon Cheronis, said in his opening statement that Mr. Weinstein was neither a predator nor a “master manipulator,” arguing that his various accusers were involved with him in transactional relationships meant to advance their own careers. | But a defense lawyer, Damon Cheronis, said in his opening statement that Mr. Weinstein was neither a predator nor a “master manipulator,” arguing that his various accusers were involved with him in transactional relationships meant to advance their own careers. |
| “It was consensual,” Mr. Cheronis said, telling the jurors that they were “going to be shown two realities.” | “It was consensual,” Mr. Cheronis said, telling the jurors that they were “going to be shown two realities.” |
| “You are here to get to the truth,” Mr. Cheronis later said. | “You are here to get to the truth,” Mr. Cheronis later said. |
| The start of the trial, one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, has attracted news media from around the globe and will delve into the issues of consent and power in professional relationships. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from as far away as Germany and South America lined up in front of the courthouse in Manhattan. | The start of the trial, one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, has attracted news media from around the globe and will delve into the issues of consent and power in professional relationships. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from as far away as Germany and South America lined up in front of the courthouse in Manhattan. |
| It also capped a year and a half of legal wrangling by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, who have sought for months to contain, delay and derail the process with attempts to limit witnesses, remove the judge from the case and relocate the trial from what they have described as the “carnival-like atmosphere” of Manhattan. | It also capped a year and a half of legal wrangling by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, who have sought for months to contain, delay and derail the process with attempts to limit witnesses, remove the judge from the case and relocate the trial from what they have described as the “carnival-like atmosphere” of Manhattan. |
| One of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, Damon Cheronis, said in his opening statement that Mr. Weinstein was neither a predator nor a “master manipulator.” He said that the producer’s various accusers were involved with him in transactional relationships meant to advance their own careers. | |
| “It was consensual,” Mr. Cheronis said. He told the jurors that they were “going to be shown two realities,” but that in the end the evidence — including a trove of friendly emails from the accusers to Mr. Weinstein — would show he was innocent. | |
| Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006. | Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006. |
| Four other women, including Ms. Sciorra, are also expected to testify, even though most of their allegations are too old to prosecute as separate crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is the handling the case, intends to use their testimony show that Mr. Weinstein engaged in a pattern of sexual predation. | |
| The day began when Mr. Weinstein, who recently had back surgery, made his way up the courthouse steps at just before 9:15 a.m., his weight sometimes supported by two men as he struggled to stay upright. It was the first time in weeks that he had entered the courthouse without a walker. | |
| Neither Mr. Weinstein nor his lawyers spoke to a crowd of reporters, camera operators and photographs as he walked inside. Among those sitting in the packed courtroom was the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. | |
| Opening statements started at 10:15 a.m., as Ms. Hast led the jury through nearly 30 years of Mr. Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. The litany of abuse, the prosecutor said, began in the early 1990s, when Mr. Weinstein raped Ms. Sciorra, who was later known for her work in “The Sopranos.” | Opening statements started at 10:15 a.m., as Ms. Hast led the jury through nearly 30 years of Mr. Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. The litany of abuse, the prosecutor said, began in the early 1990s, when Mr. Weinstein raped Ms. Sciorra, who was later known for her work in “The Sopranos.” |
| After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan one night, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment, forced his way inside and began unbuttoning his shirt. Ms. Sciorra thought that she could flee into the bathroom, Ms. Hast said, but Mr. Weinstein pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her. | After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan one night, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment, forced his way inside and began unbuttoning his shirt. Ms. Sciorra thought that she could flee into the bathroom, Ms. Hast said, but Mr. Weinstein pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her. |
| For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast recounted, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels she was staying in. | For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast recounted, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels she was staying in. |
| Once, according to Ms. Hast, when Ms. Sciorra was placed in a hotel room next to Mr. Weinstein’s during a film festival, she opened her door to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. | Once, according to Ms. Hast, when Ms. Sciorra was placed in a hotel room next to Mr. Weinstein’s during a film festival, she opened her door to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. |
| Ms. Haleyi, who went public with her story in 2017, met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her. | Ms. Haleyi, who went public with her story in 2017, met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her. |
| “Miriam decided to just check out,” Ms. Hast said, referring to Ms. Haleyi’s given name. “She tried to endure the violent sexual assault Harvey Weinstein was perpetrating on her.” | “Miriam decided to just check out,” Ms. Hast said, referring to Ms. Haleyi’s given name. “She tried to endure the violent sexual assault Harvey Weinstein was perpetrating on her.” |
| Weeks after the first assault, Ms. Hast said, Ms. Haleyi met Mr. Weinstein at a hotel in TriBeCa, and he attacked her again. “She laid there emotionless, like a dead fish,” the prosecutor said. | Weeks after the first assault, Ms. Hast said, Ms. Haleyi met Mr. Weinstein at a hotel in TriBeCa, and he attacked her again. “She laid there emotionless, like a dead fish,” the prosecutor said. |
| Ms. Hast said a third accuser, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is a rape victim, moved to Los Angeles at age 25, looking for “a break in the entertainment industry” after being raised in an evangelical church in a small town in Washington State. | Ms. Hast said a third accuser, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is a rape victim, moved to Los Angeles at age 25, looking for “a break in the entertainment industry” after being raised in an evangelical church in a small town in Washington State. |
| A few years later — as “a starving actress” — she met Mr. Weinstein at a party and accepted his invitation to join him in a hotel room, where she gave him a massage even though she felt he was “old enough to be her father” and was “overweight and sloppy looking,” Ms. Hast said. | A few years later — as “a starving actress” — she met Mr. Weinstein at a party and accepted his invitation to join him in a hotel room, where she gave him a massage even though she felt he was “old enough to be her father” and was “overweight and sloppy looking,” Ms. Hast said. |
| At a subsequent meeting in Los Angeles, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein kissed the actress and forced her into receiving oral sex. Ultimately, Ms. Hast told the jury, the woman “tried to have a relationship” with Mr. Weinstein, believing “there was no way to get out” without harming her career. | At a subsequent meeting in Los Angeles, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein kissed the actress and forced her into receiving oral sex. Ultimately, Ms. Hast told the jury, the woman “tried to have a relationship” with Mr. Weinstein, believing “there was no way to get out” without harming her career. |
| Then, on March 18, 2013, the actress met Mr. Weinstein for a breakfast meeting at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. It was her first time in New York. After taking her to his room, Mr. Weinstein undressed her, and then climbed on top of her and raped her, Ms. Hast said. Before the assault. Ms. Hast added, Mr. Weinstein injected his penis with an erection medication. | Then, on March 18, 2013, the actress met Mr. Weinstein for a breakfast meeting at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. It was her first time in New York. After taking her to his room, Mr. Weinstein undressed her, and then climbed on top of her and raped her, Ms. Hast said. Before the assault. Ms. Hast added, Mr. Weinstein injected his penis with an erection medication. |
| Eight months later, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein raped the woman for a second time, ripping off her pants and violently spreading her legs. After the attack, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein told the actress: “I just find you so attractive. I couldn’t resist you.” | Eight months later, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein raped the woman for a second time, ripping off her pants and violently spreading her legs. After the attack, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein told the actress: “I just find you so attractive. I couldn’t resist you.” |
| As her statement neared its end, Ms. Hast told the jury about three more women who would testify that Mr. Weinstein attacked them. The accusations by these women were not charged in the indictment; they were instead expected to be called, like Ms. Sciorra, to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein had engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior. | As her statement neared its end, Ms. Hast told the jury about three more women who would testify that Mr. Weinstein attacked them. The accusations by these women were not charged in the indictment; they were instead expected to be called, like Ms. Sciorra, to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein had engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior. |
| One of the women, an actress, was expected to say that, under the guise of discussing movie roles, Mr. Weinstein took her to a hotel room in TriBeCa and penetrated her with his fingers. When the woman met with Mr. Weinstein again at a hotel in Midtown, Ms. Hast said, he demanded that she have sex with him and his assistant in exchange for parts in three films. | One of the women, an actress, was expected to say that, under the guise of discussing movie roles, Mr. Weinstein took her to a hotel room in TriBeCa and penetrated her with his fingers. When the woman met with Mr. Weinstein again at a hotel in Midtown, Ms. Hast said, he demanded that she have sex with him and his assistant in exchange for parts in three films. |
| “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast quoted him as saying. | “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast quoted him as saying. |
| The second woman, an actress who worked as a waitress at a cocktail lounge that Mr. Weinstein frequented, was expected to testify that she met the defendant at his apartment in TriBeCa for what she believed would be a business meeting. Mr. Weinstein instead lured her into a bedroom and assaulted her, Ms. Hast told the jury. | |
| The third corroborating witness, a young model from Pennsylvania who was looking to start an acting career, met with Mr. Weinstein in 2013 at a hotel bar. After the meeting, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein took her to his hotel room, where he masturbated while groping her breast. | The third corroborating witness, a young model from Pennsylvania who was looking to start an acting career, met with Mr. Weinstein in 2013 at a hotel bar. After the meeting, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein took her to his hotel room, where he masturbated while groping her breast. |
| Mr. Cheronis, however, said the evidence would show that the women had maintained consensual sexual relationships with Mr. Weinstein long after the alleged assaults. | |
| “If you drown out the noise, you are going to know that what Ms. Hast told you does not hold water,” Mr. Cheronis said, referring to the prosecutor’s opening statement. | |
| Mr. Cheronis showed jurors excerpts from emails that women had sent to Mr. Weinstein, which he said suggested that the encounters had been friendly. One woman described Mr. Weinstein as a “casual boyfriend” and had taken notes on her phone about her sexual encounters with the producer. | |
| “You can lie to the state, you can lie to the police, you can lie to anybody, but you can’t lie to yourself,” Mr. Cheronis said. “You are here to get to the truth. The truth is, there was nothing nonconsensual about it.” | |
| Emily Palmer contributed reporting. | Emily Palmer contributed reporting. |