NEW YORK (AP) — A former teen style mannequin testifying in Harvey Weinstein ’s retrial on sexual assault costs was confronted on the stand Tuesday with a personal journal the place protection attorneys say she wrote about individuals who sexually abused her.
As certainly one of Weinstein’s legal professionals started to query her concerning the handwritten journal, Kaja Sokola protested that it shouldn’t be mentioned in open court docket as she’d written it as a part of a substance abuse remedy program years in the past.
“This is very inappropriate,” she pleaded because the lawyer started to quote parts of the textual content, which they are saying was initially written in Polish in 2015. “Please don’t read that. This is my personal things. I’m not on trial here.”
Decide Curtis Farber dismissed the jury for a lunch break as Sokola started to get emotional.
He assured her later that he would enable the jury to listen to restricted questioning across the doc. The choose additionally mentioned he had considerations concerning the journal’s completeness and authenticity, questioning how protection legal professionals had obtained what seems to be non-public medical data.
“This might backfire tremendously” for the protection, Farber mentioned at one level, as prosecutors additionally strongly opposed inclusion of the journal as proof within the trial. “That’s the risk they’re willing to take.”
Sokola, who’s now a 39-year-old psychotherapist, continued to push again. Her testimony was anticipated to renew Tuesday afternoon after a lunch break.
“This is unethical,” she insisted to the choose. “I would never do this to my patient, and I would never do this to myself.”
Michael Cibella, certainly one of Weinstein’s legal professionals, informed Farber that the protection crew intends to query Sokola on part of the journal the place she describes not less than 5 sexual assaults she’s suffered over her life.
Weinstein, they are saying, just isn’t amongst these she named, although he does seem elsewhere within the journal. They are saying she references her frustration and disappointment after a “Harvey W” had led her alongside, “promising me help” however “nothing came out of it.”
Sokola testified final week that Weinstein exploited her desires of an performing profession to topic her to undesirable sexual advances, beginning days after they met in 2002, whereas she was a 16-year-old on a modeling journey to New York.
A few of these allegations are past the authorized time restrict for felony costs, however Weinstein faces a felony intercourse act cost over Sokola’s declare that he compelled oral intercourse on her in 2006.
Prosecutors added the cost to the landmark #MeToo case final 12 months, after an appeals court docket overturned Weinstein’s 2020 conviction. The responsible verdict pertained to allegations from two different ladies, who even have testified or are anticipated to testify on the retrial.
Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not responsible and denies ever sexually assaulting anybody.
His legal professionals, of their cross-examination of Sokola that started Friday, have sought to lift doubts about her allegations, portraying her as a wannabe actor who tried to leverage her consensual relations with the previous studio boss.
The Related Press usually doesn’t identify individuals who allege they’ve been sexually assaulted, however Sokola has given her permission to be recognized.
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Observe Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
