'For the sake of truth': A Weinstein victim's decision to take the stand again

On Wednesday, 12 New York jurors recovered disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein blameworthy of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley successful 2006, aft his erstwhile enactment crimes condemnation successful the authorities was overturned past year.

When Miriam Haley heard the quality past twelvemonth that a New York tribunal had thrown retired a rape condemnation against Harvey Weinstein, the antheral she helped enactment down bars 4 years before, she was shocked.

In 2020, Ms Haley told a Manhattan courtroom each item of the clip Weinstein sexually assaulted her successful his New York flat successful 2006.

This time, she was readying to crook down prosecutors, not wanting to enactment herself done it each again. But conscionable weeks earlier the retrial, she saw a nexus to a caller podcast bid aimed astatine "exonerating" Weinstein.

"I conscionable thought, I person to basal up for myself. I person to basal up for the truth," Ms Haley told the BBC.

She was 1 of 3 women to attest against Weinstein during his six-week retrial, accusing him of utilizing his powerfulness arsenic a Miramax Hollywood tycoon to sexually maltreatment young women.

Ultimately, the assemblage recovered Weinstein blameworthy of sexually assaulting lone Ms Haley. They acquitted him of sexually assaulting different woman, and a mistrial was declared connected a 3rd rape count.

The verdict "gives maine anticipation - anticipation that determination is caller consciousness astir intersexual unit and that the story of the cleanable unfortunate is fading", Ms Haley said extracurricular the Manhattan courthouse connected Wednesday.

A tribunal of appeals overturned Weinstein's erstwhile condemnation for enactment crimes successful New York past April. The judges recovered Weinstein's archetypal proceedings was not just due to the fact that it included grounds from women who made allegations beyond the official charges against him.

In September, the 73-year-old was indicted connected intersexual battle charges for a caller trial.

He pleaded not blameworthy and again vehemently denied the allegations. His lawyers argued astatine the retrial that his accusers were "friends with benefits" who had consensual enactment with him successful speech for enactment opportunities.

Those portrayals were insulting, said Ms Haley, adding that Weinstein's continued denial of the allegations pushed her to "keep showing up" successful court.

Warning: This nonfiction contains distressing content

For this trial, Ms Haley spent 4 days connected the basal - 3 much than she did the archetypal time.

This trial, she could look consecutive astatine her assailant, who sat successful a wheelchair adjacent to the defence table, dissimilar during the archetypal trial, erstwhile helium was blocked by the judge's booth.

Going in, she worried, arsenic she had successful the erstwhile trial, astir however she would feel.

"Would I consciousness intimidated? Would I possibly adjacent consciousness atrocious for him?" she said. "And past erstwhile I did spot him, it was conscionable similar nothing."

With Weinstein watching, Ms Haley told the tribunal astir their archetypal gathering successful France successful 2006. She said she went to his edifice reasoning they would sermon enactment opportunities, but Weinstein asked her to springiness him a massage. She declined and near successful tears.

They remained successful contact, and Weinstein aboriginal helped Ms Haley find enactment arsenic a accumulation adjunct for the tv amusement Project Runway.

Then, 1 nighttime she accepted an invitation to his New York apartment, she said, due to the fact that helium had conscionable asked her to be a movie premiere successful Los Angeles.

On that evening of 10 July 2006, the movie mogul "lunged" astatine her from crossed a sofa and kissed her. He pushed her into a bedroom, wherever helium forcibly performed oral enactment connected her, Ms Haley testified.

"I couldn't get distant from his grip," she told the court. "I realised, I'm getting raped, this is what this is."

Recounting those intimate details to a country afloat of strangers for the 2nd clip was "exhausting", Ms Haley aboriginal told the BBC.

"It's conscionable truthful invasive," she said.

After nonstop questioning, Ms Haley faced cross-examination from Weinstein lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, who is known for her combative benignant and has defended different large Hollywood figures accused of intersexual assault, including Bill Cosby and R Kelly.

When Ms Bonjean grilled her astir who removed her covering connected that July evening, Ms Haley answered done tears.

"He took my apparel off…I didn't instrumentality my apparel off," she said. "He was the 1 who raped me, not the different mode around."

"That is for the assemblage to decide," Ms Bonjean replied.

The remark was disrespectful, said Ms Haley, who added that she could "feel my eyes balling up, and everything, conscionable due to the fact that it was conscionable truthful profoundly violative successful that moment".

"Regardless of the verdict, it inactive happened, from my perspective," she said. "I'm inactive the 1 who has to unrecorded with it."

Ms Haley was followed connected the basal by histrion Jessica Mann, who was progressive successful Weinstein's archetypal New York trial, and erstwhile exemplary Kaja Sokola, who testified for the archetypal time, accusing Weinstein of sexually assaulting her erstwhile she was 19.

The assemblage recovered Weinstein not blameworthy of assaulting Ms Sokola, and a mistrial was declared connected the rape number brought by Ms Mann, aft 1 juror refused to proceed deliberations.

Weinstein inactive indispensable service a abstracted 16-year condemnation for enactment crimes successful California, meaning helium was already expected to walk the remainder of his beingness successful situation careless of the retrial's outcome.

In total, helium has been accused of intersexual misconduct, battle and rape by much than 100 women.

Like galore victims of intersexual assault, Ms Haley did not travel guardant publically astir the maltreatment for years.

She said she adopted a strategy from her hard puerility - 1 that included maltreatment - wherever she suppressed the traumatic memories and went connected with beingness arsenic usual.

Nonetheless, the battle had affectional consequences.

"I mislaid assurance successful a batch of things," Ms Haley said. "All I could spot connected the aboveground was each these radical fawning implicit him. It was highly humiliating and embarrassing."

Ms Haley yet decided to travel guardant aft different women accused Weinstein of assault, helping to galvanise the #MeToo movement.

She was sent decease threats - but besides dozens of messages from women who said she had motivated them to talk retired astir their ain abuse.

"It does person this ripple effect," she said.

Ultimately, the verdict was grounds of the "lasting and existent change" astir intersexual battle awareness, Ms Haley said, calling the condemnation a "release".

Now a freelance shaper who spends clip successful Mexico, Ms Haley believes the extremity of the retrial volition adjacent a achy chapter, 1 she thought was already sealed with Weinstein's archetypal conviction.

"Even maine showing up this clip feels similar a tiny victory," she said. "I decidedly wasn't truly doing it for myself. I was doing it for the involvement of truth, and for different women."