USA Opening statements started in the Weinstein trial
Following the selection of the jury, the new edition of the historic trial against former film mogul Harvey Weinstein for sex crimes has now also started in terms of content with the opening statements.
23.04.2025, 18:17
SDA
Weinstein used "dream opportunities as weapons", said Deputy District Attorney Shannon Lucey in court in New York, according to media reports. The 73-year-old Weinstein was wheeled into the courtroom in a wheelchair.
A jury had been sought for more than a week beforehand and seven women and five men were finally selected from a pool of almost 300 people. There were also six alternate jurors.
Guilty verdict overturned - trial reopened
The historic conviction for rape and sexual assault from 2020 was overturned last year due to procedural errors. A series of allegations of serious sexual assault against Weinstein in 2017 had set the global MeToo movement in motion. In another trial in California in 2023, Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
At the center of the New York trial, then as now, were the allegations of two women: Weinstein allegedly forced production assistant Mimi Haleyi to perform oral sex on him in 2006 and raped actress Jessica Mann in 2013. The new edition is now also about another case.
Weinstein rejects the accusations
The trial could last five weeks. Weinstein has always denied any guilt. His lawyers emphasize that the sexual contact was consensual.
Weinstein is allowed to stay overnight in hospital during the ongoing trial. This was decided by a judge in New York last week after the 73-year-old's defense filed a motion to this effect. Weinstein suffers from numerous health problems.
