Harvey Weinstein's retrial on sex charges begins in Manhattan

· UPI

April 23 (UPI) -- Harvey Weinstein had "mutually beneficial relationships" with three women who accuse him of sexual assault, his attorney said during opening statements of his retrial Wednesday in Manhattan.

Weinstein's attorney Arthur Aidala described the relationships between Weinstein, 72, and his three accusers as a "friends with benefits" situation.

Accusers Jessica Mann, Kaja Sokola and Miriam Haley provided Weinstein with sexual favors in exchange for film career opportunities, Aidala said.

"He gets them auditions. He gets them jobs," Aidala argued, "and in return they fool around with him."

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The alleged arrangement lasted for several years, and Aidala said the three women eventually received a total of $4 million from an insurer to settle their claims against Weinstein.

Sokola was named as one of Weinstein's accusers for the first time during Wednesday's opening statements.

She is a former model and actress who met Weinstein in 2002 when she was 16, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Prosecutor Shannon Lucey accused Weinstein of manipulating the three women with "promises of career assistance" and "threats of career destruction," Deadline reported.

"He simply did to take 'no' for an answer," Lucey told the jury. "If he was told, 'no,' he simply got what he wanted by force."

She said Weinstein "had all of the power" and the three women "had none."

Lucey showed jurors photos of the three women and warned their testimony at times would be graphic.

She said Weinstein's accusers are reluctant to air their stories before a courtroom full of strangers and media.

Lucey also called the prosecution's first witness against Weinstein, who is a former Miramax and The Weinstein Company employee named Stefan Sterns.

Sterns testified that he met Haley once in 2006 while he worked as Weinstein's personal assistant.

The court proceeding ended at 4:30 p.m. EDT and likely will resume with Sterns still testifying, Deadline reported.

The former Hollywood movie mogul was back in a Manhattan courtroom as his retrial for alleged rape and sexual assault got underway.

The jury of seven women and five men will decide if the Oscar-winning producer will be found guilty again and possibly be sentenced to prison for life.

His previous conviction was thrown out by an appeals court last year, which ruled the jury that convicted him should not have heard evidence from witnesses who alleged sexual misconduct but weren't included in his indictment.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg then announced he would retry Weinstein with the use of additional testimony from a new witness.

Weinstein's accusers say he committed sexual violence against them, and he was found guilty of those allegations before the verdicts against him were overturned.

Sokola alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2006. He faces a single count of first-degree criminal sexual act in regard to her allegations.

The Law Offices of Aidala, Bertuna and Kamins, P.C., or ABK Law, who are Weinstein's defense team, posted a video to X Wednesday in which Hon. Barry Kamins, retired, said of lead attorney Aidala, that his team is "very proud as [Aidala] engages again in the pursuit of justice for Harvey Weinstein."

Kamins said attorney Imran H. Ansari will "argue that Mr. Weinstein is in ill health, and he should be remaining in the hospital facility."

The firm posted to X Tuesday it filed an emergency petition "to transfer Weinstein out of Rikers [prison] to Bellevue [hospital]."

Weinstein, who has undergone treatment for cancer and had both heart and lung surgery, originally was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

At age 72, a lengthy term behind bars could be a life sentence for him.

If found innocent on all charges, Weinstein still must serve a 16-year sentence in California after being convicted of rape, forced oral copulation and third-degree sexual misconduct in an unrelated case in 2023.