A woman testified Monday that former American producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) in 1991 and did it again 17 years later.
According to the witness, Weinstein sexually assaulted her again in 2008 in the same hotel room during TIFF.
The woman said she was a 24-year-old aspiring actress at the 1991 event and had no idea who the then-producer was until she met him at a party.
On the witness stand at a trial in Los Angeles (California), the plaintiff said she was first attracted to Weinstein because he talked about books and movies.
“We got along very well. He was very intelligent. We had good conversations,” he recalled.
The witness said the two left the party to drink at a nearby cafe and then went to Weinstein’s room at the Four Seasons Hotel.
“It all happened so, so, so fast. I was in shock. It was so unexpected,” he continued, adding that the former producer took off her skirt, put on a towel, and said his wife “loved it.”
Weinstein, 70, who is serving a 23-year sentence in New York, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual assault involving five women in Los Angeles and has denied having non-consensual sex.
The former producer has not been charged with the alleged assaults detailed in today’s deposition.
The woman, along with three others, are allowed to testify so prosecutors can show Weinstein’s passion for the crimes he’s accused of.
The witness recalled that she did not see the former producer again until 2008, when she was 41 years old and temporarily lived with her husband and children during the Four Seasons.
The woman noted that she ran into Weinstein again during TIFF that year.
“My blood stopped. I was very angry. (…) I wanted to face him”, he pointed out.
When Weinstein’s assistant came to her room to make the appointment, the woman said OK.
Once in the ex-producer’s room, the woman asked: “What is the only woman in front who said no to you?”.
After firing the assistant, according to the woman, Weinstein grabbed her breasts and masturbated before letting her out.
The woman said she didn’t tell anyone about the second rape for years because of “sheer embarrassment”.
“I was in shock. Very embarrassed, very embarrassed. (…) I never want to go through that again”, she said.
This testimony appears to be the first time his story has been told in a public setting.
Like other witnesses, the woman told her story quickly and in plain language, but was asked to follow up and provide more graphic and more complex details, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
Weinstein’s attorneys are scheduled to cross-examine the witness Tuesday afternoon.
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