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Weinstein’s lawyers relied on his accuser’s own words to attempt to discredit her account, painstakingly going over dozens of emails and other electronic communications between the witness, Jessica Mann, and Weinstein over several years. In one email, she called him “a pseudo father” who validated her.
Under cross-examination for a third day, Mann acknowledged that she had reached out to Weinstein several times after the encounter in 2013 when, she said, he sexually assaulted her. Her last sexual encounter with him was in late 2016, around the time his mother died, she said.
But while she acknowledged their complex on-again-off-again relationship, Mann was unwavering in testifying that he had overpowered her and raped her at a Manhattan hotel in March 2013. “I do want the jury to know that he is my rapist,” she said.
Mann’s testimony presents a challenge for prosecutors, who will have to explain to the jury why she maintained a relationship with Weinstein after the alleged attack.
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For their part, Weinstein’s lawyers have tried to undermine the prosecution’s contention that Mann was a young, naive woman from a dairy farm in Washington State whom Weinstein exploited. They elicited testimony suggesting she put up with his sexual demands in return for benefits she got in exchange.
Mann returned to the stand after emotional testimony Monday, when she broke down and sobbed inconsolably while reading a passage she had written in an email about being sexually abused early in life and how it had affected her relationship with Weinstein.
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The jury was shown photos of Weinstein’s naked body, despite his lawyer’s objections, to corroborate Mann’s earlier testimony that the producer’s genitals are abnormal.
Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, sat in the courtroom, as he has for much of the trial, observing the cross-examination of Mann. Vance was roundly criticized for deciding not to press forcible touching charges against the producer in 2015 and was under political pressure to indict Weinstein when he finally did so in 2018. The outcome of the trial is likely to shape his legacy.
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Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault — charges that stem from the allegations of three women, including Mann. He faces a possible life sentence on the last charge.
Miriam Haley, a production assistant on one of the producer’s shows, testified he forced her to let him perform oral sex during a meeting at his Manhattan apartment in 2006. Annabella Sciorra, an actress known for her work in “The Sopranos,” testified Weinstein pushed his way into her Manhattan apartment after giving her a ride home in 1993 and forcibly raped her.
Though too much time has passed to charge Weinstein with rape in Sciorra’s case, her account is being used to support the predatory sexual assault charge, which requires prosecutors to show he committed a serious sexual offense against at least two people.
Justice James A. Burke allowed prosecutors to call three other women to testify about similar allegations. Though Weinstein is not charged with a crime in those cases, prosecutors will use their testimony to try to establish a pattern of behavior.
But Mann’s allegations support some of the most serious charges in the indictment. She accused Weinstein of trapping her in a Manhattan hotel room and raping her in 2013, about a month after they met. That morning, she said, she had asked Weinstein to have breakfast with her and two friends in the film industry.
For the next four years, Mann continued to have sexual encounters with Weinstein, she said on cross-examination. Her last communication with him was in early 2017. She also turned to him for help again and again, even asking him to take her to dinner after a breakup with one of her boyfriends, her emails showed.
Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, asked Mann about her request in February 2015 that Weinstein sponsor her for membership in an exclusive club.
“You want the ladies and gentlemen of this jury to believe the person you wanted to sponsor you to the exclusive club was your rapist?” Rotunno asked.
“I do want the jury to know he is my rapist, and I hope I can continue to explain the dynamic of why I engaged with him,” Mann responded. “I mean, he raped me.”
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Rotunno also called attention to Mann’s mental health record, which includes a history of suicidal thoughts and self-harm.
Weinstein’s lawyers noted that Mann continued to accept tickets to Oscars and Golden Globes parties from Weinstein, even asking him if she could bring a friend.
When she testified last week, she told the jury that she did not want anyone to know about her relationship with Weinstein, but her electronic communications suggested that she had bragged about her connection to him.
Rotunno suggested that Mann used her friendship with Weinstein when it helped her connect with other people in the film industry.
“It is true that knowing him,” Mann said. “and people if they know you know him, it can open doors.”
Then, Rotunno asked Mann when she had last had sex with Weinstein. Mann said it was when Weinstein’s mother died in November 2016. She said Weinstein or his assistant invited her to a hotel to talk with him. She was told he needed to be consoled, and he believed she understood grief. Her father had died a year before.
But when she arrived at the hotel, she said, Weinstein was naked and on the bed. “All he wants to do is something sexual,” she said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .