Former American film producer Harvey Weinstein refused Monday to testify in the sexual assault and rape trial he is currently facing in Los Angeles, his lawyer, Mark Werksman, announced.
The process, which began on October 10, was resumed after a week of vacation for Thanksgiving.
In court, Judge Lisa B. Lench advised Weinstein that he had the right to testify and take the stand, as well as not to.
According to Variety magazine, Weinstein decided not to testify, nor did he do so in 2020 during the trial held in New York, in which he was accused and sentenced to 23 years for sexual assault and rape.
The producer of films like Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) or The Aviator (2004) is now facing seven charges, five of them for sexual assault and two for rape, derived from the accusations of four women.
If found guilty of all charges, Weinstein, who had already been sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020, could face 60 more years, and if acquitted he will have to continue serving his current sentence in prison.
However, his legal team is seeking to appeal the main sentence before the New York Court of Appeals, an institution that has agreed to review the case and could annul, modify or confirm the sentence.
At the start of this second trial, which is expected to end in December, Weinstein was facing 11 counts of accusations from five women that, if proceeded, would have cost him a 140-year prison sentence.
However, on November 15, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would not take into account the testimony of one of the victims, for which four charges were withdrawn, two of them for rape, which considerably reduced the possible sentence.
Among the witnesses who have already testified in this second trial is filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused the producer of raping her in 2005.
As of this Monday, the defense will begin to present the case, and the producer’s team commented that they hope to rest by Wednesday.
Weinstein’s 2020 conviction in New York marked a great triumph for the #MeToo movement in its feminist fight against sexual abuse and assault. In all, more than 80 women have accused the former producer of sexual offenses and misconduct.
Information and photo credits: EFE
