In terms of sex crimes, Harvey Weinstein could become the “case of the century,” say Los Angeles prosecutors, who have been probing all evidence available to see if they can potentially bring him to justice over allegations of sexual assault.
“When it comes to sex crimes, Weinstein is the case of the century,” said Steve Cooley, former Los Angeles district attorney.
While Weinstein stands accused of sexual impropriety by over 80 women, few of the accusations have been considered for criminal prosecution due to statutes of limitation and lack of physical evidence. In Los Angeles, an Italian model-actress alleges that Weinstein raped her in a Beverly Hills hotel room five years ago, a case that law enforcement say could be strong enough to prosecute.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “detectives believe the case is promising because the woman told her story to three people, including her priest, relatively soon after the alleged attack. LAPD detectives also have obtained bills showing she was at the hotel at the time, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.”
The case is not air-tight, given the lack of physical evidence and investigators’ inability to secure proof of Weinstein being at the hotel at the time the rape allegedly occurred. One interesting caveat is that California law allows cases to introduce allegations from other women that do not result in criminal charges. Essentially, more women can take the stand to testify against Weinstein’s actions without charging him criminally. The Times provided further details on the alleged rape:
In October, the actress, 38, provided LAPD detectives with what she said was a moment-by-moment account of how Weinstein had “bullied” his way into her hotel room in 2013 and attacked her.
She told The Times that she and Weinstein had spoken briefly on the evening in question at the Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest. Later, she said, he showed up “without warning” in the lobby of her hotel — which surprised her because she didn’t tell him where she was staying. He asked to come up to her room. She said she told him no and offered to meet him downstairs, but soon he was knocking on her door.
“He … bullied his way into my hotel room, saying, ‘I’m not going to [have sex with] you, I just want to talk,'” the woman told the Times. “Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked.”
Weinstein allegedly bragged about his power as he persuaded her not to fight him. Not even her tears as she revealed to him pictures of her children could fend him off.
“He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do,” she said. “He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”
No rape kit had been taken because she feared telling authorities at the time, which leaves little physical evidence. Weinstein attorneys Blair Berk and Benjamin Brafman maintain that all acts were consensual: “Mr. Weinstein unequivocally denies there was any criminal conduct.”
The case could take months before any legal action is filed. Similar to the O.J. Simpson trial, the tightrope that prosecutors walk here is balancing the evidence with the public outcry. In short, they must see if his guilt exists beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.
Criminal cases against Weinstein are still pending in the New York District Attorney’s office.