Jury to hear opening statements in Harvey Weinstein's new sex crimes trial

*Weinstein's 2020 article of faith upset, young tribulation ordered * He faces 1 rape count, two criminal sexual act counts * Former Hollywood mogul has pleaded not guilty By Jack Queen April 23 - Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on rape and sexual assault charges is set to proceed Wednesday with opening statements before a Manhattan jury, a year after New York’s highest state appeals court overturned the disgraced movie mogul’s conviction. Weinstein, 73, faces one rape count and two criminal sexual act counts. The Miramax studio co-founder, who was once one of Hollywood’s most influential producers, has pleaded not guilty and denied ever assaulting anyone or having non-consensual sex. Weinstein’s trial conviction was a capstone moment for the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men in media, politics and other spheres. The new trial before Superior Court justice Curtis Farber is expected to last roughly six weeks. All 12 jurors must vote unanimously to convict Weinstein. A jury found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020, and he was sentenced to 23 years in prison. A state appeals court threw out the conviction in April 2024 and ordered a new trial, finding that women who accused Weinstein of assaults that were not part of the charges against him should not have been allowed to testify. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office have accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, charges he was convicted of in the first trial. In the retrial, Weinstein also faces a new charge of allegedly assaulting an unidentified woman in Manhattan in 2006. During the first trial, prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who manipulated women with promises of career advancement in Hollywood, coaxed them into hotel rooms or private apartments, and then overpowered and attacked them. Weinstein is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison even if he is acquitted in the retrial in New York because he was sentenced to 16 years after being separately convicted of rape in California. He has yet to begin serving that sentence and has remained in custody in New York since his conviction there was overturned. In September, Weinstein was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency heart surgery. The episode was one of several health scares while he was held in New York City's Rikers Island jail, where his representatives have said he was receiving inadequate medical care. More than 100 women, including famous actresses, accused Weinstein of misconduct, and the allegations against him were a focal point of #MeToo. He denied the allegations and said any sexual encounters he had were consensual. Lindsay Goldbrum, an attorney representing the new unidentified victim, said in a statement that the trial is a pivotal moment in the fight against sexual abuse. "More than seven years after #MeToo, this case will test how far we’ve advanced in our collective understanding of sexual assault, power dynamics, and what it means to be a survivor," Goldbrum said. Weinstein's film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, collapsing after the original accusations of sexual misconduct. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.