Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault by a court in New York in 2020. After his defense appealed the verdict to an appellate court, it was overturned by New York's highest court, citing errors during the trial.
Psychologist testifies
Now, it will be retried and is expected to be a shorter version of the previous one, but with an important addition: a charge based on allegations from a woman who was not part of the first indictment.
Additionally, a new expert witness will be called at the request of the prosecution. Psychologist Dawn Hughes will testify about the psychological and traumatic effects of rape and sexual assault.
Hughes testified in favor of Amber Heard during the defamation trial between her and Johnny Depp in 2022 and was also a prosecution witness in the sex trafficking trial against singer R. Kelly in 2021.
Judge Curtis Farber also granted a request from the defense to prevent the term "survivor" from being used to describe Weinstein's victims. Prosecutors were instructed to instruct all police officers who testify to refer to the women as "complainant witnesses" instead.
The trial begins on April 15 and is expected to last for about five weeks.
Weinstein denies
The allegations against Harvey Weinstein, 72, surfaced in October 2017 and sparked the #metoo movement. In total, more than 80 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, harassment, or rape. Weinstein has denied all allegations and claims that all sexual relationships were consensual.
In 2022, Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles for assault and rape against a woman.
