LAPD investigating Weinstein after sixth woman accuses him of rape
LOS ANGELES — An Italian model-actress met with Los Angeles police detectives for more than two hours Thursday morning, providing a detailed account of new allegations that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her at a hotel in 2013.
She is the sixth woman to accuse Weinstein of rape or forcible sex acts. Los Angeles police Capt. Billy Hayes confirmed that the department has launched an investigation into the matter.
It is the first case related to Weinstein to be reported in Southern California. New York police already have two active sex crime probes and London’s Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations made by three women.
The new allegation could be legally troubling for Weinstein because it falls within the 10year statute of limitations for the crime that existed at the time of the alleged incident, legal experts say.
It could “open the door to a prosecution if the evidence exists,” said defense attorney Dmitry Gorin, a former L.A. sex crimes prosecutor. Until now, most of the allegations against Weinstein that could lead to criminal charges concerned incidents that are more than a decade old.
Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” allegations of nonconsensual sex, according to his representative, Sallie Hofmeister. She could not be immediately reached for comment about the latest allegation.
In the latest case, the 38-yearold woman, who has asked not to be named because she is fearful of retaliation and concerned about protecting her children’s privacy, first contacted police on Tuesday, through her attorney, David Ring. Two detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s RobberyHomicide Division’s rape special section took her statement on Thursday.
She told the Los Angeles Times that the incident occurred at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after she attended the 8th annual Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest in February 2013. She had previously met Weinstein once, briefly, in Rome after being introduced by an acquaintance. At that time, he invited her up to his hotel room, but she said she declined. She said they spoke briefly at the film festival, but he didn’t appear to recall meeting her.
Later, he showed up “without warning” in the lobby of her hotel. He asked to come up to her room. She said she told him no and offered to meet him downstairs, but soon, he was knocking at her door.
“He ... bullied his way into my hotel room,” the woman told the Los Angeles Times. “Once inside, he asked me questions about myself but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked. He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”