A Manhattan jury on Wednesday began deliberating whether Harvey Weinstein raped an aspiring actress in a hotel room over a decade ago \u2014 the third time a jury in New York is considering the case.<\/p>\n
Mr. Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer, was convicted of the rape of Jessica Mann, the aspiring actress, in 2020 during his first trial in New York, but the verdict was overturned. Following the second trial last year, the jury was deadlocked on that count, and the judge ordered a new trial.<\/p>\n
This week, after a monthlong trial and testimony from nearly 20 witnesses, a lawyer for Mr. Weinstein, 74, and a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney\u2019s office delivered their closing statements.<\/p>\n
Mr. Weinstein \u2014 who his lawyers have said is battling a host of medical issues<\/a> \u2014 has insisted that he never sexually assaulted any of the women who have accused him. He has told the judge overseeing his latest trial that his situation \u201cfeels like a slow march to my death.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Mr. Weinstein hired a new legal team from a firm that has defended other high-profile people, including Sean Combs, the fallen hip-hop mogul, and one of the Alexander brothers<\/a>, who were convicted of engaging in a conspiracy to traffic women for sex.<\/p>\n In his closing statements to the jurors on Tuesday, one of the lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, said Mr. Weinstein and Ms. Mann had a consensual relationship, where she asked him for help and he \u201chelped her in every conceivable way” for years. The couple was on-and-off again, he said, and Ms. Mann felt conflicted throughout.<\/p>\n But when news broke in the fall of 2017 that Mr. Weinstein had been accused of assaulting other women, Ms. Mann was going through her own crisis, he said. As she saw the reports, Ms. Mann decided to say that she was also assaulted, Mr. Agnifilo told the jurors.<\/p>\n \u201cIs she lying? Yeah, maybe,\u201d Mr. Agnifilo said, adding \u201cbut there\u2019s affirmative evidence that it did not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n But as Mr. Agnifilo spoke, a male juror in the front row rarely looked at him. At one point, Mr. Agnifilo said he did not know any woman who believed that \u201cgiving a man a massage will de-escalate the situation.\u201d The juror visibly reacted, leaning back in his chair. He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, a motion he repeated throughout Mr. Agnifilo\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n Mr. Weinstein\u2019s downfall was seen as a critical moment in the #MeToo movement, which demanded accountability for sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. His return to court in New York marks the most recent development in a legal drama that has taken many turns as it has unfolded over the better part of a decade.<\/p>\n But the public and media attention around his case has diminished<\/a> as Mr. Weinstein has repeatedly returned to courthouses in New York and California.<\/p>\n