On the third day of Harvey Weinstein's New York trial, a private investigator explained on Friday January 24 that the deposed producer wanted to gather information about the women who could report him.

Sam Anson said he received an email from Harvey Weinstein in mid-August 2017, just under two months before the New York Times and New Yorker revelations were released. The message contained a "red list" of people the former boss of the Miramax studio asked the private sector to investigate. He also called him to clarify his request.

"He said he was concerned about the preparation of articles about his sexual behavior in a negative way," said Sam Anson, who said he had not followed up on the request.

"He will destroy me"

The list included, according to the investigator, the names of actresses Annabella Sciorra and Rose McGowan, who claim to have been raped by Harvey Weinstein. Although she did not speak publicly about this rape until October 2017, Annabella Sciorra testified on Thursday that she had spoken of it to a friend, actress Rosie Perez.

Friday, the latter appeared as a witness and indicated that she spoke to Annabella Sciorra the night of her alleged assault. "Annabella told me 'I think something bad happened. I think it was a rape,'" said the actress. A few months later, Annabella Sciorra revealed to him that Harvey Weinstein was the aggressor. "I said, 'Please talk to the police.' But she said, 'I can't, he'll destroy me.' "

Defense lawyer Damon Cheronis, however, accused Rosie Perez of contradicting himself: he noted that she had told a reporter for the New Yorker in the past that Annabella Sciorra had not told her about the rape until long after facts.

"Myths"

Friday morning, the court heard another prosecution witness, psychiatrist Barbara Ziv, who testified at the trial of American TV star Bill Cosby, who was convicted of sexual assault.

Manhattan prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon cited her to debunk "some myths" about sexual assault. In particular, the expert pointed out that most of the sexual assaults were committed by an acquaintance of the victim and not by an unknown person and that it was wrong to think that the victims generally reported their assault to the police or to friends.

During cross-examination, defense lawyer Damon Cheronis asked Barbara Ziv if it was possible that over the years, "out of shame", women described as rape what had been consensual sex .
"Anything is possible, (but) it's not usual," replied Ms. Ziv.

Harvey Weinstein, 67, a long-time revered figure in Hollywood, risks life imprisonment for having sexually assaulted two women, a former production assistant in 2006 and a young actress in 2013. He claims that his sexual relations were all consensual. His trial is scheduled to last until March 6.

With AFP

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