A woman whose testimony led to the second conviction of Harvey Weinstein has filed a civil lawsuit against the disgraced filmmaker.
The woman, a European model who was known as Jane Doe #1 throughout court proceedings, alleged at Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial last fall that he raped her in a hotel room in February 2013.
After ten days of deliberation a jury convicted Weinstein of three charges, all of which were related to Jane Doe #1. He was acquitted of another count and the jury remained divided on other charges.
The movie mogul had already been sentenced to 23 years in prison after his 2020 conviction in New York.
He will be sentenced in Los Angeles on February 23 and faces a further 18 years in prison, despite his lawyers demanding a retrial.
The movie mogul was sentenced to 23 years in prison after his 2020 conviction in New York and faces another sentence in Los Angeles
Weinstein faces a further prison sentence following his conviction in Los Angeles late last year. He is due to be sentenced later this month
The civil lawsuit accuses the Oscar-winning film producer of sexual battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks compensation for physical and mental pain.
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‘The conduct of Defendant Weinstein was despicable, and done with malice, oppression and fraud, thus justifying an award of punitive damages against him,’ the lawsuit argues.
In response to the filing, Weinstein’s spokesman Jude Engelmayer said Weinstein refutes the allegations and that witnesses had lied about crucial evidence at his trial in California.
In 2021, after his conviction in New York, a $17million settlement was approved by a bankruptcy court and was paid to more than 50 accusers.
The plaintiff in Thursday’s suit was not among them.
At a Los Angeles hearing on February 23 he faces a further prison term even as he appeals both cases.
Prosecutors have asked for the full 18 years and for it to run consecutively with his New York sentence.
Rumors of Weinstein’s behavior had circulated in Hollywood for years, but his position at the apex of the industry meant few were prepared to challenge him.
That all changed in 2017 with the publication of bombshell allegations against him, ushering in the #MeToo movement and opening the floodgates for women to speak out against sexual violence in the workplace.
Dozens of women have since alleged they fell victim to Weinstein’s predatory behavior.
