Harvey Weinstein used power to prey on women, prosecutor tells jury as defence challenges rape accuser’s credibility

Harvey Weinstein used his Hollywood influence to prey on and sexually abuse women, a prosecutor told a Manhattan jury on Tuesday, as a defence lawyer argued that the former film mogul’s third New York rape trial stems from consensual sex.

Weinstein, 74, was once a leading Hollywood producer until allegations of sexual misconduct led to his downfall and fuelled a broader social movement encouraging women to come forward with accounts of abuse by powerful men.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of third-degree rape and has denied assaulting anyone or engaging in non-consensual sex.

Prosecutor Candace White told jurors that Weinstein raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 while she resisted and repeatedly said “no”.

“This case will come down to power, control and manipulation,” White said, accusing Weinstein of preying on “fragile and sheltered” young women with ambitions of Hollywood stardom.

Defence lawyer Jacob Kaplan accused Mann of fabricating the allegation after regretting that her relationship with Weinstein failed to advance her film career. He told jurors that emails would show Mann was a “strong and capable” woman and that the relationship was consensual.

“In the end, this case will be her word against her word,” Kaplan said during his opening statement.

Testimony in the case was set to begin on Tuesday afternoon.

Weinstein’s earlier conviction for raping Mann was overturned on appeal, and a jury in a subsequent trial was unable to reach a verdict on that charge.

The latest trial before Justice Curtis Farber began with jury selection last week in a Manhattan state court and is expected to last about a month.

At his first New York trial in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of raping Mann in 2013 and assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. However, the state’s highest court later overturned the conviction and his 23-year prison sentence, concluding that he had not received a fair trial.

A Manhattan jury then convicted Weinstein of sexually abusing Haley at a trial in June 2025 but found him not guilty of assaulting former model Kaja Sokola. The jury was deadlocked on the third-degree rape charge involving Mann, prompting Farber to declare a mistrial on that count.

Weinstein was also convicted of rape in California in 2022 and is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence. He is appealing that conviction and sentence.

He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for abusing Haley.

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