Harvey Weinstein’s 2nd sexual assault trial begins with eight accusers set to

CNN
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Prosecutors said in opening statements of Harvey Weinstein’s second criminal trial Monday that eight women will testify in court they were sexually assaulted by the powerful Hollywood mogul.

“Each of these women came forward independent of each other, and none of them knew one another,” prosecutor Paul Thompson told the jury, according to a pool report.

Four of the women’s testimony will be directly connected to specific charges. These women include Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Jane Doe 1, a model and actress who lived in Italy at the time; Jane Doe 2, a 23-year-old model and aspiring screenwriter; and Jane Doe 3, a licensed massage therapist, according to a pool report.

The most recent indictment in the case indicated there were five women directly connected to charges. CNN is working to clarify the difference between that indictment and the prosecutors’ opening statements.

In addition, four women will testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, meaning their testimony isn’t related to a specific charge but can be used by the jury as prosecutors try to show Weinstein had a pattern in his actions. These women will testify about assaults outside of Los Angeles jurisdiction, Thompson said.

In the defense’s opening statements, attorney Mark Werksman described the prosecution’s case as a “firehose” of allegations that will each fall apart upon close inspection. He said Jane Doe 1 and 2 fabricated their stories and said Siebel Newsom and Jane Doe 3 had consensual sexual relationship with Weinstein.

“The massive size of this case and the vast number of accusers is not the result of a carefully investigated … fact-driven prosecution,” he said.

Weinstein, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges including rape and forcible oral copulation related to incidents dating from 2004 to 2013, according to the indictment. In court Monday, he appeared hunched over as he clambered from a wheelchair into a chair at the defense table. Wearing a suit and tie, he primarily looked at jurors throughout the proceedings.

After openings, Jane Doe 1 took the stand as the first witness and accused Weinstein of assault. She said she was staying in a hotel for the Los Angeles Italia film festival in February 2013 when she got a call that Weinstein, who she barely knew, wanted to see her. Inside her room, she asked him to leave but he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to perform oral sex, she testified.

“I was crying, choking,” she said.

She broke into sobs in court, leading the judge to end testimony for the day.

The trial in California is his second such sexual assault case since reporting by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 revealed Weinstein’s alleged history of sexual abuse, harassment and secret settlements as he used his influence as a Hollywood power broker to take advantage of young women.

At the time, Weinstein was one of the most…