Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein faces more sexual assault charges in LA; trial begins

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's trial has started in Los Angeles, US for an additional 11 charges of abuse including rape. The new wave of charges includes alleged sexual assaults and rape that took place in LA hotels between 2004 and 2013. 

The details of the Los Angeles trial:

• Jury selection started on Monday, October 10, 2022, and is expected to be over in two weeks. 
• Five alleged victims of Weinstein are set to testify against the Hollywood mogul.
• Some of the alleged victims who are set to testify in the LA trial are said to be known to the public.
• California Governor Newsom Gavin's documentary maker and actor wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is also testifying against Weinstein. 

What Harvey Weinstein says: The producer of blockbuster films such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love has denied all the charges and said that all the sexual encounters were consensual. Weinstein through his lawyers also said that the allegations "stem from many years ago" and that there is no forensic evidence or credible witnesses that can be relied on. 

What happens if the LA court finds Weinstein guilty? He will be faced with an additional 140 years behind bars if found guilty. 

Watch below the trailer of She Said, a documentary on how two reporters broke the Harvey Weinstein story: 

The Harvey Weinstein case: The Hollywood producer is currently serving 23 years in prison in New York for sexually assaulting and raping multiple women, mostly actresses and others, during his entire career. 

• Weinstein was convicted in 2020 by a New York court which was a watershed moment in the Me Too movement in the US. 
• Several women, who were sexually abused and harassed as aspiring actresses, and even established actresses came out to speak against the decades of harassment meted out by Weinstein.
• Hollywood A-listers such as Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Cara Delevingne, Uma Thurman, etc, also accused Weinstein of sexually harassing and/or making unwanted sexual advances at them. 
• Weinstein is also being investigated for sexual abuse charges in the UK. 

How did the decades-long abuse come to light? A 2017 New York Times report blew the lid on Harvey Weinstein's many crimes. 

• Actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan were some to publicly come forward with the accusations. 
• A few days after the report came out, the producer was fired from the board of his own company The Weinstein Company over misconduct. He is also the co-founder of Miramax, the American film and TV production company. 
• New Yorker magazine reported allegations made by 13 more women including three accusations of rape. 
• Following the mounting number of allegations, Harvey Weinstein was expelled from various academies like the Oscars and he was also stripped of several honours including Harvard University's Du Bois medal. 

The New York trial began in 2020. The current trial in LA is expected to take 6-8 weeks.