Four women identified as Jane Does have filed a lawsuit against convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein. They allege he sexually assaulted them; one was 17 at the time of the incident in 1994.
THE SUIT
“Under the pretense of helping advance Plaintiffs’ careers, Harvey Weinstein was able to successfully isolate Plaintiffs from their friends and peers in order to sexually harass, falsely imprison and sexually assault and/or batter them (collectively ‘sexually abuse’),” read the court documents.
The plaintiff who was 17 at the time claims that she met him in a hotel room. “Upon entering the room, Plaintiff noticed that Weinstein was already nearly naked, but because she was on her own in a hotel several miles from her home, with no way of getting home without Weinstein’s associate taking her there, she decided to keep her cool and try to get through the ‘meeting’ as quickly as possible. The two then had a brief conversation wherein Weinstein feigned interest in Plaintiff’s desire to work in the entertainment industry, and shortly thereafter, the much larger and stronger Weinstein insisted that in order for him to get Plaintiff a job, she had to sexually gratify him. After initially rebuffing his demands, Weinstein cornered Plaintiff and forced her to remove her clothes and he climbed on top of her and demanded she perform oral sex on him.”
OTHER DEFENDANTS, DENIAL
Also named as defendants: his brother Robert Weinstein, their company Miramax, and Disney, which owned Miramax. The suit claims Robert, executives and employees knew the abuse was going on, and some were complicit in encounters.
The 68-year-old is serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted in New York of sexual assault and rape. Weinstein is also facing charges in California. He is denying these allegations.
“Mr. Weinstein categorically denies the allegations made anonymously against him years, if not decades, later. He absolutely denies the allegations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with someone underage, and will vigorously defend himself against these bold allegations,” Weinstein's civil attorney, Imran Ansari, said in a statement to CNN on Friday afternoon.
“In any event, some of these claims, including those alleged to have occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, may be barred by the applicable statute of limitations, and not subject to any exceptions under the law, as these plaintiffs do not appear to be complainants in Mr. Weinstein's criminal case,” Ansari added.
In response to the lawsuit, Robert Weinstein’s lawyer told Vulture, “This is yet another attempt to hold our client responsible for alleged sexual assaults committed by Harvey Weinstein. We want to remind the public that, to date, each and every claim like the ones asserted here have been dismissed against our client. We are confident that the same will be true with respect to the allegations in this complaint.”