Main accuser in Weinstein’s overturned NY sex crimes case will consider testifying at retrial

Main accuser in Weinstein’s overturned NY sex crimes case will consider testifying at retrial
By: NY Post - US-News Posted On: April 26, 2024 View: 10

One of the women who originally put Harvey Weinstein behind bars in New York for sex crimes says she’s likely to testify again if the case is re-tried following his stunning acquittal.

The 72-year-old former movie bigwig’s 23-year sentence on one count of rape and one count of a criminal sex act was reversed on appeal Thursday after a panel of judges ruled he didn’t get a fair trial.

Former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haley had testified Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at the 2020 trial.

She said Friday if charges are brought again she would want to take the witness stand for the sake of “the collective” of women Weinstein is said to have abused and because it’s the “right thing” to do.

Weinstein had his New York conviction and 23-year sentence overturned Thursday by New York’s highest court. Getty Images
Miriam “Mimi” Haley, one of the main accusers who helped clinch a conviction against Harvey Weinstein, spoke out for the first time since Weinstein’s conviction was reversed. Getty Images

“It was a very, very lengthy process,” Haley explained at a press conference. “The preparation process was a lot longer than the part that the public sees … It was rehashing and reliving [it] over and over again.”

But she added “because it is what happened — I would consider [testifying again].”

Haley emphasized she can’t firmly commit yet because “I feel like I have been processing it and I think we were all in a bit of shock.”

The New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s conviction after finding the trial judge made a series of bad calls which led to an unfair trial, including allowing witnesses who were not part of the original indictment to testify.

The case has been sent back down for retrial — which the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has said it hopes to go forward with.

Haley said when she heard the news yesterday she felt “sick to my stomach. My heart sank.”

“I definitely hoped that it would be behind me at this point,” she said at the press conference, held by her lawyer Gloria Allred.

Haley, a native of Finland, in 2020 told a jury through tears and in graphic detail about her alleged assault by the former Mirimax exec.

She claimed during the July 10, 2006 attack at Weinstein’s apartment, he ripped her tampon out and forced himself on her.

While Weinstein was also convicted of third-degree rape for an alleged attack on hairstylist and aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, his lawyers claimed Thursday that charge could not be brought again because it happened outside of the statue of limitations.

Lawyer Gloria Allred has represented Haley since coming forward against Weinstein. AFP via Getty Images

The Big Apple jury acquitted Weinstein at the time of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault connected to allegations that he attack “The Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra. Because of the acquittal, that charge cannot be retried.

A key part of Thursday’s ruling hinged on a finding by the high court the trial judge “erroneously” allowed three women to testify — even though no criminal charges were ever mounted against Weinstein tied to their claims.

The three uncharged women who testified at the first trial — Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff and Laren Marie Young — would likely not all be called back to the witness stand if the second trial goes forward, in light of the Court of Appeals’ decision.

Haley said she doesn’t think the fact the other women who made claims against Weinstein wouldn’t testify at a new trial would change the outcome if it were held again.

“The truth doesn’t change, the evidence is still there, so I don’t see why there would be a different result,” Haley said.

“There was a lot of evidence presented so I still believe that it would stand on it’s own,” she added.

Allred said she hopes New York legislatures will pass a law, similar to one in California, allowing witnesses who were not part of the charges in sexual assault cases to testify as evidence of a person’s character.

“I do see this decision as being very protective of the defendants,” Allred said. “But what about the victims, aren’t the victims entitled to a fair trial too?”

Weinstein has been scheduled to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday for next steps, the DA’s office confirmed Friday and has been moved toi Riker’s Island in New York City in preparation.

“Our mission is to center survivors’ experiences and wellbeing in every decision we make, which we will do as we approach the next steps in this case,” a spokesperson with the DA’s office said Friday.

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