Attorney to detail another rape allegation against Harvey Weinstein
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - Two attorneys plan Friday to publicly discuss alleged sexual assaults against their clients by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
At 11:30 a.m., civil rights attorney Gloria Allred will a hold a news conference along with a former actress who allegedly was sexually assaulted by Weinstein. He allegedly also told her that to get a job, she'd have to be good in bed and sleep with directors and producers, Allred said.
Mobile app users, click here to watch Allred's press conference (Part 1)
Mobile app users, click here to watch Allred's press conference (Part 2)
Around 90 minutes later, attorney David Ring will hold a news conference to discuss the case of an Italian model and actress who he represents and who says Weinstein raped her at a hotel in Los Angeles, near Beverly Hills in 2013. The woman's name has not been disclosed, and it was not immediately known if she'd appear with Ring.
"My client is grateful to all the courageous women who have already come forward to finally expose Weinstein,'' Ring said in a statement announcing his news conference.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that it's conducting a criminal investigation into a woman's claim she was raped by Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual harassment or assault.
"The Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division has interviewed a potential sexual assault victim involving Harvey Weinstein which allegedly occurred in 2013,'' LAPD Officer Tony Im said. "The case is
currently under investigation.''
Mobile users, click here to watch attorney David Ring's press conference
Police in New York and London have said they were investigating allegations of sexual assault involving Weinstein. The Los Angeles Times reported that the NYPD has two active sex crime investigations into Weinstein, while London authorities are investigating allegations made by three women. Weinstein has denied that any of his activities involved anything other than consensual sex.
Weinstein, 65, has been fired from The Weinstein Company, the production house he co-founded with his brother Bob, and on Tuesday he resigned from the company's board of directors. He is believed to be in Arizona seeking therapy.
He has also been ousted from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. On Thursday night, the Television Academy's Board of Governors met and voted to begin "disciplinary proceedings'' against Weinstein, who may now be ousted from the Television Academy as well.
The woman represented by attorney David Ring told The Times the alleged assault occurred at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel, which is located in Los Angeles, where she was staying while attending the eighth annual Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest in February 2013.
She said she spoke briefly to Weinstein at the festival, but he later showed up "without warning'' in the lobby of her hotel and called her, asking if he could come to her room. She instead agreed to meet him downstairs, but he showed up at her door a short time later.
"He ... bullied his way into my hotel room, saying, 'I'm not going to (have sex with you), I just want to talk,'' the woman told The 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 my 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,'' she said.
Weinstein left after about 45 minutes, and "acted like nothing happened,'' the woman said.
"I barely knew this man,'' she told The Times. "It was the most demeaning thing ever done to me by far. I sickens me still. ... He made me feel like an object, like nothing with all his power.''
She said she told a priest, a friend and a nanny at the time, but was afraid to come forward to police. She said she decided to come forward Thursday at the urging of her children.
At the time of the attack, she was 34 years old and living with her three children in Italy, The Times reported.
The fallout against Weinstein began earlier this month with a New York Times article claiming Weinstein had reached financial settlements with eight women for alleged sexual harassment. Days later, the New Yorker ran an article detailing more allegations of harassment, along with three women accusing Weinstein of sexually assaulting them.
In the days since, more women have come forward to talk about about alleged harassing behavior by Weinstein.
The Oscar-winning film producer issued a statement after the New York Times article conceding that his behavior at times crossed a line.
"I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed,'' Weinstein said. "I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.''
The Weinstein allegations have led to a national discussion about the widespread problem of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond.
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