(new York) A former model testified in tears on Thursday, that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her when she was 16, describing this as “the most horrible thing he ever arrived at her”.
Posted yesterday at 4:29 p.m.
Michael R.
Associated Press
Kaja Sokola, then a budding actress, told the jurors during the new trial of Weinstein that the former film producer had slipped his hand in his underwear and had forced her to touch her genitals in a Manhattan apartment in 2002.
Mme Sokola said he saw Weinstein’s eyes – “black and frightening” – fix it in the bathroom mirror at the time of the facts. Subsequently, she said, he would have advised him to remain silent about what had happened, saying that he had made the stars of the stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Penélope Cruz and that he could help him realize his Hollywood dreams.
“I had never been in such a situation,” said Mr.me Sokola, under the notes scribbled by captivated jurors. I felt stupid and shameful, and I felt like it was my fault of having put myself in this situation. »»
Havey Weinstein is not charged with any crime related to the alleged assault, which Kaja Sokola described for the first time in a complaint a few years ago. The time of assault was out of prescription.
The former model testifies because Weinstein is accused of having subjected him to a forced blowjob in a hotel in Manhattan four years later, at the time of his 20 years. The accusation claims that this happened after Weinstein organized the presence of Mme Sokola as a figurative in the film The newspaper of a nanny. Mme Sokola reported the allegation to the authorities a few days after the start of the first Weinstein trial in 2020, but was not involved in this case. The prosecutors added it to the new trial, thus joining two women who testified in the first case, after the cancellation of his conviction last year.
Harvey Weinstein, now 73 years old, watched Kaja Sokola high down while she told the previous allegation, pressing her thumb and left index against her face like a shield.
The complainant testified to having met the boss of the studio of the time in a restaurant in Manhattan in 2002, three or four days before the alleged assault. During this brief conversation, she said, Weinstein asked her if she wanted to become an actress.
A few days later, she continued, he invited her to have lunch-supposedly to talk about comedy-but finally took her to an apartment, where he led her to a bedroom, then in a bathroom, ordered him to undress and assaulted him. “He told me to undress, but I didn’t want to. I was panicked, ”said M.me Sokola. “Then he told me that, if I wanted to be an actress, that’s what actors do in the cinema, so I should get used to it.” If a director tells me to undress, I have to undress. I was afraid. I was afraid of him. »»
A new accuser
Kaja Sokola avoided watching Weinstein while heading towards the witness bar. She took a brief glance at Weinstein when asked on Thursday to designate him in court.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty and denies having sexually assaulted anyone.
His lawyers argue that his accusers have made sex with him in the hope of obtaining roles in cinema and on television. Defense also pointed out that women stayed in touch with him for a while after the alleged assaults. Women, on the other hand, say that the producer of the time took advantage of the prospect of employment in the entertainment industry to exploit them.
Kaja Sokola continued Harvey Weinstein in court after rumors of the industry concerning his behavior towards women turned into a concert of public accusations in 2017, fueling the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. Prosecutors said Mme Sokola had finally received 3.5 million US compensation.
The prosecutors explained that they started investigating the allegations of the former model in 2020, but having ended the investigation after the conviction of Weinstein. They relaunched the investigation after the highest court in New York canceled his conviction.
The lawyers of the fallen producer fought without success to prevent Mme Sokola to participate in the new trial, accusing prosecutors of having “illegally introduced an additional accusation in the case” to try to strengthen the credibility of other accusers.
One of the other accused, Miriam Haley, testified last week that Weinstein had imposed a blowjob in 2006. The third accuser, Jessica Mann, should testify later.
The Associated Press generally does not appoint people who have charges of sexual assault without their authorization. Mmes Haley, Mann and Sokola gave theirs.
