adminLOS ANGELES. – An actress and model identified as Jane Doe 1 accused former Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault during the first day of his Los Angeles rape trial.
She tearfully recounted being forced to perform oral sex on Weinstein after he turned up at her hotel room following a film festival event in 2013.
The woman was the first to take the stand on Monday in the trial, following opening statements from his legal team.
“I was crying, choking,” the woman said, sobbing as she spoke.
US trade publication, Deadline, reported that Jane Doe 1 also covered her mouth with her hand as she described how Weinstein allegedly grabbed her by the hair and shoved her face toward his genitalia.
The woman filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department in October 2017, shortly after the New York Times and New Yorker reported on multiple allegations of sexual assault by Weinstein.
At the Los Angeles court on Monday, Weinstein wore a black suit, blue tie and glasses as he was brought to the courtroom in a wheelchair, seated at the right edge of the defence table.
Jane Doe 1, speaking at times with some assistance from a Russian interpreter, told jurors her grasp of English was a factor in her encounter with Weinstein. She said she had been living in Rome in 2013 when she travelled to Los Angeles to attend the Italia Film Festival, where she was expected to “work red carpets.”
She told the court she had previously met Weinstein in Rome, where he invited her to his hotel room but she declined.
At the Los Angeles event, she said, she saw Weinstein in a VIP room but said that they “barely” spoke.
Yet later, when she was back in her hotel room, the front desk put a phone call through from a person identifying himself as Weinstein, who insisted that he see her.
When he got into her room, she said there was some small talk before Weinstein removed his jacket and started talking about a massage.
“I was continuing to ask him to go because I was realising it was something awkward and I was missing my English a lot,” she said.
Weinstein then made a comment about the size of her breasts, she said, and he then tried to open her robe. She said that she pulled away and asked him again to leave. – BBC.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter