With credible witness, NYPD builds rape case against Weinstein
NEW YORK — An actress’ rape allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein are credible, and investigators are gathering evidence for a criminal case, New York City police said Friday.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Friday that investigators have interviewed actress Paz de la Huerta, who publicly accused Weinstein of raping her twice in her apartment in 2010.
Boyce said detectives found the “Boardwalk Empire” actress’ story believable and corroborated portions of her account.
She called police on Oct. 26, he said.
The factors that made her story credible included: “The ability to articulate each and every minute of the crime, where she was, where they met, where this happened and what he did,” he said.
An email message sent to Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister was not immediately returned.
De la Huerta told CBS News that the first rape occurred in October 2010 after Weinstein gave her a ride home from a party, insisted on having a drink in her apartment and forced himself on her. She said the second rape occurred in December 2010 after Weinstein came to her apartment. She had been drinking and was not in a condition to give consent, CBS reported the actress said.
Police said she didn’t come forward earlier because she was afraid of damaging her career and wasn’t sure anyone would believe the allegations against such a powerful Hollywood player.
Weinstein has an apartment and had an office for his production company in New York City, but his exact whereabouts Friday were unknown. Boyce said Weinstein knows police wish to speak with him. Weinstein’s representatives have not responded to media inquiries about where he is, but TMZ on Friday posted a photo of a man it said was Weinstein in disguise eating at a Phoenix restaurant.
A person who answered the phone and said he was a manager at the Chestnut Fine Foods & Provisions restaurant in Phoenix said Weinstein dined there Thursday night. The person declined to give his name.
New York City investigators could seek an arrest warrant, which requires a court order, or hand the evidence over to prosecutors to put the allegations to a grand jury to seek an indictment. Either way, they need collaboration from Manhattan prosecutors, who put the brakes on a 2015 investigation into Weinstein.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they speak publicly, which de la Huerta has done.
The investigation comes a month after the New York Times published an expose of sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein, leading to his firing from the company he co-founded and his expulsion from the organization that bestows the Academy Awards.