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| Rosie Perez, at Weinstein Trial, Backs Up Rape Allegation | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| One night, at the end of 1993, the actress Rosie Perez called her old friend, Annabella Sciorra, looking to go out and have some fun. Ms. Sciorra, a fellow Brooklyn actress, answered the phone in a strange voice. Ms. Perez asked her what was wrong. | One night, at the end of 1993, the actress Rosie Perez called her old friend, Annabella Sciorra, looking to go out and have some fun. Ms. Sciorra, a fellow Brooklyn actress, answered the phone in a strange voice. Ms. Perez asked her what was wrong. |
| “She said, ‘I think I was raped,’” Ms. Perez testified on Friday in the Harvey Weinstein rape trial. Ms. Perez asked the inevitable question: “Do you know who did it?” | “She said, ‘I think I was raped,’” Ms. Perez testified on Friday in the Harvey Weinstein rape trial. Ms. Perez asked the inevitable question: “Do you know who did it?” |
| At the time, Ms. Sciorra could not, or would not, name her attacker. She broke into tears and said, “I can’t, I can’t, I’ve got to go,” Ms. Perez said. | At the time, Ms. Sciorra could not, or would not, name her attacker. She broke into tears and said, “I can’t, I can’t, I’ve got to go,” Ms. Perez said. |
| But in another call several months later, Ms. Perez added, a crying Ms. Sciorra identified the man she claimed had assaulted her: Mr. Weinstein. | But in another call several months later, Ms. Perez added, a crying Ms. Sciorra identified the man she claimed had assaulted her: Mr. Weinstein. |
| “She swore me never to tell anybody,” Ms. Perez said. “I told her to go to the police, and she said: ‘I can’t. He will destroy me. He will destroy my career.’” | “She swore me never to tell anybody,” Ms. Perez said. “I told her to go to the police, and she said: ‘I can’t. He will destroy me. He will destroy my career.’” |
| Ms. Perez appeared in court on Friday as a prosecution witness, called to the stand at Mr. Weinstein’s trial in Manhattan to bolster Ms. Sciorra’s own testimony that the producer had assaulted her in the winter months of 1993 or 1994. | Ms. Perez appeared in court on Friday as a prosecution witness, called to the stand at Mr. Weinstein’s trial in Manhattan to bolster Ms. Sciorra’s own testimony that the producer had assaulted her in the winter months of 1993 or 1994. |
| On Thursday, a tearful Ms. Sciorra, known for her work in “The Sopranos” and “Jungle Fever,” told the jury that Mr. Weinstein pushed his way into her Gramercy Park apartment and raped her after giving her a ride home from an “uneventful” dinner party. | On Thursday, a tearful Ms. Sciorra, known for her work in “The Sopranos” and “Jungle Fever,” told the jury that Mr. Weinstein pushed his way into her Gramercy Park apartment and raped her after giving her a ride home from an “uneventful” dinner party. |
| Mr. Weinstein’s trial is widely seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement and has delved into complicated issues of consent and power dynamics in professional situations. Ms. Perez’s account touched upon another common aspect of sexual assaults: how women often delay reporting attacks and choose to live with them in silence. | Mr. Weinstein’s trial is widely seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement and has delved into complicated issues of consent and power dynamics in professional situations. Ms. Perez’s account touched upon another common aspect of sexual assaults: how women often delay reporting attacks and choose to live with them in silence. |
| On cross-examination, Damon Cheronis, one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, cut straight to that point. Under questioning, he got Ms. Perez to admit that, even though one of her best friends had just said she was raped, they did not speak for a couple of days. | On cross-examination, Damon Cheronis, one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, cut straight to that point. Under questioning, he got Ms. Perez to admit that, even though one of her best friends had just said she was raped, they did not speak for a couple of days. |
| “I tried to — she didn’t want to talk about it,” Ms. Perez told the jury. “She was still very upset.” | “I tried to — she didn’t want to talk about it,” Ms. Perez told the jury. “She was still very upset.” |
| Six women are testifying against Mr. Weinstein at his trial in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, where he faces five felony counts, including rape and predatory sexual assault. Mr. Weinstein could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the last charge. | Six women are testifying against Mr. Weinstein at his trial in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, where he faces five felony counts, including rape and predatory sexual assault. Mr. Weinstein could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the last charge. |
| The jury of seven men and five women are being asked to wade into complex questions about consent and power. Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers say the women who have accused him willingly had sex with him to advance their careers. Prosecutors say he manipulated them with promises of work, and then, once alone with the women, physically overpowered them. | The jury of seven men and five women are being asked to wade into complex questions about consent and power. Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers say the women who have accused him willingly had sex with him to advance their careers. Prosecutors say he manipulated them with promises of work, and then, once alone with the women, physically overpowered them. |
| Mr. Weinstein was once a Hollywood giant, a feared executive who reshaped the independent movie industry with Oscar winners like “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction,” and who was a donor to former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats. | Mr. Weinstein was once a Hollywood giant, a feared executive who reshaped the independent movie industry with Oscar winners like “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction,” and who was a donor to former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats. |
| But as the jury listened to gripping testimony this week from two of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers, the producer sat at the defense table quietly scribbling on a notepad and whispering to his lawyers. | But as the jury listened to gripping testimony this week from two of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers, the producer sat at the defense table quietly scribbling on a notepad and whispering to his lawyers. |
| Behind him in the courtroom gallery, a single longtime friend, Bill Currao, showed up to support Mr. Weinstein. Beside Mr. Currao were not Mr. Weinstein’s family members or other friends, but associates of the lawyers defending him. | Behind him in the courtroom gallery, a single longtime friend, Bill Currao, showed up to support Mr. Weinstein. Beside Mr. Currao were not Mr. Weinstein’s family members or other friends, but associates of the lawyers defending him. |
| The indictment only charges Mr. Weinstein with sexually assaulting two women: Mimi Haleyi, who was a production assistant on his show “Project Runway,” and a hairstylist and aspiring actress from Washington State, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is an alleged rape victim. | The indictment only charges Mr. Weinstein with sexually assaulting two women: Mimi Haleyi, who was a production assistant on his show “Project Runway,” and a hairstylist and aspiring actress from Washington State, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is an alleged rape victim. |
| Mr. Weinstein is accused of forcing oral sex on Ms. Haleyi in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006 and raping the actress at a Doubletree Hotel in Midtown Manhattan in 2013. | Mr. Weinstein is accused of forcing oral sex on Ms. Haleyi in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006 and raping the actress at a Doubletree Hotel in Midtown Manhattan in 2013. |
| Ms. Sciorra was called by prosecutors to bolster the charge of predatory sexual assault. The five-year time limit for filing a separate rape charge in the attack she described has long passed. | Ms. Sciorra was called by prosecutors to bolster the charge of predatory sexual assault. The five-year time limit for filing a separate rape charge in the attack she described has long passed. |
| Justice James A. Burke has ruled that three other women can testify about their allegations that Mr. Weinstein attacked them, even though he is not charged with crimes in those cases. | Justice James A. Burke has ruled that three other women can testify about their allegations that Mr. Weinstein attacked them, even though he is not charged with crimes in those cases. |
| Prosecutors have the judge’s permission to use the testimony of those witnesses to establish that Mr. Weinstein has a longstanding pattern of preying on young women. A similar trial tactic helped lead to a conviction of Bill Cosby on a sexual assault charge in Pennsylvania. | Prosecutors have the judge’s permission to use the testimony of those witnesses to establish that Mr. Weinstein has a longstanding pattern of preying on young women. A similar trial tactic helped lead to a conviction of Bill Cosby on a sexual assault charge in Pennsylvania. |
| Earlier on Friday, Dr. Barbara Ziv, a forensic psychiatrist who provided expert testimony in Mr. Cosby’s second trial, explained to jurors in the Weinstein case why a woman might remain in contact with her attacker after an assault. | Earlier on Friday, Dr. Barbara Ziv, a forensic psychiatrist who provided expert testimony in Mr. Cosby’s second trial, explained to jurors in the Weinstein case why a woman might remain in contact with her attacker after an assault. |
| The defense lawyers have told the jury that Ms. Haleyi and the aspiring actress from Washington State stayed in touch with Mr. Weinstein for years after they said he sexually assaulted them. They have pointed to hundreds of friendly emails and other communications the women exchanged with Mr. Weinstein. | The defense lawyers have told the jury that Ms. Haleyi and the aspiring actress from Washington State stayed in touch with Mr. Weinstein for years after they said he sexually assaulted them. They have pointed to hundreds of friendly emails and other communications the women exchanged with Mr. Weinstein. |
| In the actress’s case, the correspondence suggests that she continued to have an intimate relationship with him. | In the actress’s case, the correspondence suggests that she continued to have an intimate relationship with him. |
| Prosecutors called Dr. Ziv to undermine the defense’s argument that the communications show that his encounters with his accusers were consensual. She said that it is common for sexual assault victims to stay in contact with an attacker if they know or work with the person. One reason, she said, is a desire to move past the incident. Some victims also want to avoid hurting their jobs or reputations. Sometimes, she added, the attacker will also threaten the victim into silence. | Prosecutors called Dr. Ziv to undermine the defense’s argument that the communications show that his encounters with his accusers were consensual. She said that it is common for sexual assault victims to stay in contact with an attacker if they know or work with the person. One reason, she said, is a desire to move past the incident. Some victims also want to avoid hurting their jobs or reputations. Sometimes, she added, the attacker will also threaten the victim into silence. |
| “There’s always a worry on the part of the victim that a perpetrator can invade other aspects of their life and ruin their life,” she said. | “There’s always a worry on the part of the victim that a perpetrator can invade other aspects of their life and ruin their life,” she said. |