Feb. 20 (UPI) — Jurors in the sexual misconduct trial of Harvey Weinstein sought to review documents and clarify the charges lobbied against him on Wednesday.
During the second day of deliberations, the jurors did not reach a verdict as they asked to read all emails to, from and regarding accuser Annabella Sciorra and to rehear the testimonies of Sciorrra’s friend actress Rosie Perez.
They also asked to review all of Weinstein’s communications with Black Cube and Guide Post solutions — companies he hired to investigate Sciorra and other women who accused him of sexual misconduct — and between him and former Miramax consultant Paul Faldsher, who testified that he was friends with Sciorra and she told him the rape was just a “crazy” sexual encounter.
Jurors further sought emails between Weinstein and accuser Miram Haleyi and to rehear her testimony.
At the request of the jury, Judge James Burke read the counts of predatory sexual assault involving Haleyi and Sciorra and criminal sexual act in the first degree involving Haleyi in addition to again explaining the legal definition of rape and oral sex.
Jurors asked for copies of a presentation by forensic psychiatrist Barbara Ziv, an expert for the prosecution, that explained common “rape myths” and explained that it is “normal” for rape victims to maintain friendly contact with their attackers.
They also sent a note asking why Weinstein wasn’t charged with crimes stemming from Sciorra’s allegation that he raped her in her New York apartment in the early 1990s.
