The Angels. – The trial in New York of Harvey Weinstein and its sequel in California had a rare crossover on Monday, as the former film mogul’s sole accuser who testified in both took a stand in Los Angeles and said he sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom. in 2013. repeatedly saying “no”.
Lauren Young said she was paralyzed with fear when Harvey Weinstein prevented her from leaving the bathroom, masturbated in front of her and touched her breasts.
“I was afraid of Harvey Weinstein, that he would hurt me, or send someone to hurt me, or ruin my career, or make my life hell,” Young told the court.
The powerful producer is serving a 23-year prison sentence after being found guilty of sex offenses. To see more from Telemundo, visit https://www.nbc.com/networks/telemundo.
When Young testified in New York in February 2020, she was not one of the accusers whose stories would lead to Weinstein’s conviction of rape and sexual assault and a 23-year prison sentence. But prosecutors called her to testify to help establish a Weinstein model of preying on women.
In Los Angeles, Weinstein is charged with restraint sexual assault on the same charges.
Young said Monday that in early 2013 she was a model aspiring to be an actress and screenwriter and, through Weinstein’s assistant, who had become a friend, scheduled a meeting with him at the Montage Hotel on the night of February 2. 19, 2013, on a script she was working on.
During the meeting, Weinstein said she should have escorted him to his room to continue the chat as he prepared for an event.
Young said Weinstein led her to the bedroom and then to the bathroom, and her assistant closed the door behind them, leaving them alone.
She said she was stunned when he quickly took off his suit and briefly walked into the shower, then walked out and prevented her from leaving as she headed for the door.
“I was shocked,” she said. “I’ve never seen a big guy so naked.”
He said she backed up against a sink and walked away from him. He then he unbuttoned her dress and touched her with one hand while she masturbated with the other.
One of the people who will testify in the trial is the wife of the current California governor.
Weinstein’s attorney Alan Jackson gave the two-week trial rare moments of visual drama with a couple of dress demonstrations during cross-examination.
He pulled out the dress Young had been wearing that night and made her admit that a DNA test couldn’t prove Weinstein had touched it.
Jackson also tried to question whether Weinstein could have gotten out of the case as quickly as he described. He took off his suit jacket to prove it.
“I’ll take off my jacket, I won’t go any further,” Jackson said.
“Please don’t do this,” Young replied.
When asked how Weinstein could have unbuttoned everything so quickly, Young replied that he could have started as he walked down the aisle, a method he used for quick changes as a model.
“Does Mr. Weinstein seem like a model to you?” Jackson asked.
TV producer Harvey Weinstein and director Roman Polanski both won Oscars and were charged with criminal prosecution. To see more from Telemundo, visit https://www.nbc.com/networks/telemundo
“No, but he’s definitely a monster,” Young replied.
Like all the women Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting at trial, Young will pose as Jane Doe in court. The Associated Press generally does not publish the names of people who accuse sexual assaults unless they agree, as Young did through her attorney.
Young’s testimony stayed true to his account during the New York trial. But during cross-examination, Jackson said he differed in many ways from his first reports to police in 2018, when he called a hotline set up for reports on Weinstein after the outbreak of the #MeToo movement.
Young initially told investigators that the assault had occurred a year earlier, days after he and Weinstein dined at a Beverly Hills restaurant. Jackson noted that he was saying the same thing recently in 2020.
“I was sure I was sexually assaulted,” Young said.
“That wasn’t my question,” the lawyer replied. “I ask about the time. Something that will remain etched in your mind “.
Jackson also mentioned his previous confusion over the location of the assault and acknowledged that he was unable to name the hotel in his first three interviews with authorities, the most recent in 2020.
“I had it out of my memory,” Young said.
He was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
She decided it was the montage when the police suggested it and took her to the suite where Weinstein had stayed.
“And since then your testimony and statements have become much more detailed and colorful, right?” Jackson said.
“My trauma, I was able to relive it by walking through that room,” Young said. “I had been in other rooms and didn’t hear anything. When I entered that room, I felt that everything was flowing again. “
According to allegations in an indictment and court testimony, Young’s assault occurred the day after Weinstein raped an Italian model at another hotel during that year’s Academy Awards run, where Weinstein was. an important actor every year.
Weinstein, 70, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving five women. He said many of those incidents were consensual, although in Young’s case his defense of him denies that there was any sexual interaction.
