Three Witnesses Who Aren’t Part Of Case But Allege Assault Could Seal Harvey Weinstein’s Fate

The trial against Harvey Weinstein began recently, and there’s a lot to keep up with. The disgraced Hollywood producer is facing charges of sexually assaulting two women, with dozens more who have come out of the woodwork to say he raped, assaulted, or harassed them. His conviction could come down to lots of other evidence as the prosecution builds the case against him. From the looks of things right now, other testimonies might turn out to be extremely important in determining the outcome of the case.

Three other women who have not been named will reportedly be testifying, and those testimonies may make or break the case. Due to the Molineux rule, which allows the prosecutors to show a “pattern of behavior,” these other testimonies from women alleging rape and incidents of forced oral sex could make a huge difference. There are so many allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Last month, 21 of Weinstein’s accusers gathered in Los Angeles and New York for a powerful group photograph.

Still, in terms of the case, it’s going to come down to building evidence and showing those patterns of behavior in a way that is undeniable.

Harvey Weinstein Appears In Court For Bail Hearing

It's one of the biggest sexual misconduct cases ever. And by the looks of things, it's going to keep getting bigger. In recent years and months, so many women have come out of the woodwork to bring accusations against Harvey Weinstein.

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Still, sexual assault cases can be tough to prove in court. Recently, the film mogul was charged with two counts of assault — raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents. Those incidents were said to have taken place on two consecutive days in February of 2013,  the district attorney's office said.

One of the women told attorneys she's been working with authorities for two years to build the case. "She is thankful for their collective work that has resulted in these criminal charges against Weinstein," attorney Dave Ring said. "She values her privacy, but will do what is necessary to obtain justice for what Weinstein did to her in 2013.”

But even though to the public it appears there is ample evidence, the case still has to be carefully built. That's why prosecutors are going to rely on other witnesses and outsiders, too. It can be harder for defense attorneys to discredit witnesses when a strong case is being built, showing that many women had the same experience and demonstrating a plausible pattern of behavior.

In trials like this, survivors are often victim-blamed by defense attorneys, however. So it can be extremely tough on witnesses. Many defense authorities rely on perpetuating myths, such as survivors can only be credible if they immediately go to police after being assaulted. However, there are many reasons why survivors don't immediately go to the police — one being that they may be suffering from trauma and have a lot of difficulty talking about the events.

The three witnesses who will testify in Weinstein’s case will aim to show that Weinstein had a pattern of “luring women to his apartment or hotel room under the guise of reading a script or talking about business,” said Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer whose client will tell her story at Weinstein’s trial. Two of the witnesses say he assaulted them in hotel rooms. Those allegations mirror the allegations of one accuser in the case who says he raped her in 2013.

In order to show support and solidarity, many women have been gathering outside of the courtroom. A video shown in a recent tweet shows some of the demonstrations that have taken place.

The caption reads, "Dozens of women just staged a protest using a Chilean anti-rape anthem outside of the courthouse where Harvey Weinstein is being tried: 'The rapist is you.'"

In an interesting turn in the jury selection, well-known supermodel Gigi Hadid was among the pool of potential jurors. It seems out of the ordinary to have such a high-profile celebrity in consideration. But according to CNN, Hadid said she felt she could be impartial if she were selected to serve on the jury.

“I think I’m still able to keep an open mind on the facts,” she said, per the Hollywood Reporter. There could be some conflict with that, though. Hadid reportedly had to raise her hand a few times when being asked if she knew certain celebrities. She revealed she had met Salma Hayek, who has accused Weinstein of unwanted sexual advances. Hadid is also known to be friends with model and actor Cara Delevingne, who has accused Weinstein of sexual harassment.

Only time will tell what's going to happen in the case of Harvey Weinstein. But it's hard to deny just how importance this case is. It will definitely set a precedent for how these kinds of cases are dealt with in the future in terms of how survivors are treated and how men in power are treated when it comes to these kinds of serious allegations.