Harvey Weinstein shocked a courtroom Wednesday with his deteriorating appearance as his retrial on rape and sexual assault charges got started roughly a year after New York's highest court overturned his conviction.
The disgraced former movie mogul, 73, was wheeled into a Manhattan courtroom, but once he was seated at the table, the cameras picked up an odd detail when he smiled - he appeared to be missing some teeth.
Weinstein's 23-year-sentence was tossed out for the original conviction of sexually assaultingaspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and raping production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.
In the retrial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is once again accusing Weinstein of these crimes.
Prosecutors added a third charge that Weinstein assaulted a previously unknown woman in Manhattan in 2006. That woman has now been identified as Kaja Sokola.
Weinstein took Sokola, a Polish-born actress and model who went to live in the US as a teenager, up to an apartment under the guise of it being a business meeting, Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey said in court Wednesday.
Lucey said he ordered her to 'take off her shirt' before sexually assaulting her and forcing her to perform sexual acts on him. She was 16 at the time,BBC reported.
Even if Weinstein is acquitted of these three charges, he'll likely spend the rest of his life in prison, as he is currently serving 16 years for a separate conviction in Los Angeles in 2022. Weinstein's lawyers are appealing the LA conviction.
Harvey Weinstein, 73, is pictured in court on Wednesday at the start of his New York rape retrial and was apparently missing some teeth
Weinstein is back in court after New York's highest court dropped two of his sexual assault convictions, which erased a 23-year sentence for the disgraced former film producer
At issue in the retrial is previous sexual assault charges againstaspiring actress Jessica Mann (left) and production assistant Mimi Haleyi that were dropped last year. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has revived those charges
Kaja Sokola has been revealed as the third alleged victim of Weinstein. She claims she was sexually assaulted by him in 2006 when she was 16 years old
The majority-female jury was seated Wednesday and given instructions after Weinstein arrived.
Prosecutors began their opening statements by introducing the jurors to Weinstein's accusers, starting with Haleyi, who they said had a tough childhood because her stepfather was physically abusive to her and her mother.
Prosecutors said thatHaleyi was doing production work for Weinstein in the early 2000s, and that on July 10, 2006, he sent a car to bring her to his New York City apartment.
He started to 'kiss and grope her' once she arrived, prosecutors alleged. The assault culminated in Weinstein pushing her onto a bed and getting on top of her despite her telling him repeatedly to stop, prosecutors claimed.
After telling Sokola's story, prosecutors introduced Mann, who met Weinstein around 2012. They got together for a business meeting presumably to discuss Mann's acting career.
Weinstein was allegedly able to get Mann up to a private room in the restaurant and asked her to take her shirt off so he could give her a massage, prosecutors said. Mann later gave him a massage when he asked for one.
In March 2013, Mann claimed Weinstein lured her to a hotel room and raped her three times, assistant district attorney Shannon Lucey said.
Before Weinstein's downfall was complete, more than 100 women accused Weinstein of committing varying degrees of sexual misconduct with them.
It was one of the catalyzing moments of the #MeToo movement that began in 2017, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations against powerful men.
Tarale Wulff (second from left) and Dawn Dunning (third from left) showed up in court Wednesday toshow support for the three women at the center of the retrial
In September, Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to undergo emergency heart surgery. His lawyers are now arguing he should be able to stay at the hospital for the duration of the trial
At today's hearing, several other of Weinstein's accusers showed up to court to show support for the three women at the center of the retrial.
Among them wereTarale Wulff andDawn Dunning, both of whom testified against Weinstein in his 2020 trial. Bragg was also in attendance.
The new trial, which will be presided over by state Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber, is expected to last roughly six six weeks, Reutersreported.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty to two counts offirst-degree criminal sexual act and one count of third-degree rape. If convicted, he could see decades tacked onto his already lengthy prison sentence.
'We're hoping that Mr. Weinstein is going to get a fair trial this time,' Imran Ansari, one of his lawyers, told reporters. 'He wants to clear his name.'
Weinstein has been incarcerated at a variety of different facilities but is most recently behind bars at Riker's Island.
In September, he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to undergo emergency heart surgery.
Citing his declining health, his lawyers have requested he be able to stay in the hospital for the duration of the trial.
