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The retrial of Harvey Weinstein has begun in New York - with a prosecutor telling the court the former Hollywood mogul used "dream opportunities as weapons" to prey on the three women accusing him of sexual abuse. The case is being retried five years after the landmark #MeToo case against the producer, who was once one of the industry's most powerful figures, after the appeals court last year overturned his conviction. Weinstein, who is now 73, is charged with raping one woman and forcing oral sex on two others.
He has strenuously denied the allegations. Two of the charges are those he faced during the original trial, while the third - one of the charges of forcing oral sex - was added last year. Following a lengthy jury selection process due to the high-profile nature of the retrial, the prosecution has now opened its case at the same courthouse in Manhattan - and publicly identified the third woman, Kaja Sokola, for the first time, detailing her allegations.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:48 Why is Weinstein getting a retrial? Attorney Shannon Lucey told the court the Oscar-winning producer and studio boss used "dream opportunities as weapons" against the female accusers. "The defendant wanted their bodies, and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got," she said. Weinstein had "enormous control over those working in TV and film because he decided who was in and who was out," the court heard.
"He had all the power. They had none." Dressed in a dark suit and navy tie, the former producer listened to the prosecution's statement after arriving in court in a wheelchair, as he has done for his recent appearances.
"He knew how tempting promises of success were," Ms Lucey told the court. "He produced, he choreographed, he therefore directed, their ultimate silence for years." What are the new allegations? Image: Steven Hirsch/ New York.
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