Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Harvey WeinsteinDuring opening statements at Harvey Weinstein’s retrial, prosecutors revealed a new accuser who says she was abused by the Hollywood mogul — after meeting him when she was just a teenager.Weinstein is once again being tried on sex crime charges in New York, after his 2020 conviction was overturned last year. A new indictment added an additional criminal sex act charge.During Weinstein’s first trial, actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Miriam Haley both testified. Both were introduced by prosecutor Shannon Lucey during opening statements on Wednesday, April 23, NBC News reported.Also introduced was a third woman, Kaja Sokola, a model-turned-therapist, whom prosecutors say accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her in 2006, according to the BBC.Related: Harvey Weinstein’s Sex Crime Retrial Begins With Opening Statements: ‘The Defendant Wanted Their Bodies’Citing prosecutors, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Sokola says she first met Weinstein in 2002, when she was 16 years old.Prosecutors reportedly said that she remained in contact with Weinstein for a few years until 2006, when she alleges he persuaded her to come to his New York City hotel room and forcibly performed oral sex on her. She was 19 years old at the time of the alleged assault.Weinstein has consistently denied allegations of sexual misconduct, having been accused by more than 80 women.In 2022, Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in California, a conviction that still stands.NPR previously reported that Weinstein had been treated for bone marrow cancer. PEOPLE previously reported in 2024 that he had emergency heart surgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.Read the original article on People
