NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The accuser at 鈥瞫 rape returned to court Friday, a day after she said she was , and finished five days of fraught, often tearful testimony.
鈥淚鈥檓 not doing too good right now, so I鈥檓 really trying to remember,鈥� Jessica Mann said as a defense lawyer resumed scrutinizing her communications and get-togethers with the former movie magnate after the alleged 2013 rape. She added: 鈥淚 feel like I said a lot, and I鈥檓 trying to get through this.鈥�
But Mann went on to respond to hours of questions, at times seeming exhausted or asking for queries to be repeated. By the end of the day, as prosecutors took their second turn asking questions, she was slumped with her head propped on her left hand, weeping as she said she was being 鈥渁s truthful and transparent as I can possibly be.”
Mann, 40, and Weinstein, 73, are in the midst of the third trial about her accusation that he forced himself on her in a New York hotel room. Weinstein’s lawyers say everything that happened between the two was consensual and part of a four-year, caring relationship.
He was initially , but an appeals court , and jurors at a retrial last year on the rape charge when the foreperson refused to participate further. That left the case unresolved and led to the ongoing re-retrial.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they agree to be named, as Mann has done.
Weinstein was a high-flying film producer until allegations about him against sexual misconduct in 2017. He he 鈥渁cted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.鈥�
He and Mann met in early 2013, when he was a studio boss and she was a 27-year-old hairstylist and actor trying to build a movie career. She that he soon started making advances, and although she was taken aback, she decided to embark on a relationship with the then-married Weinstein.
that in March 2013, he trapped her in a midtown Manhattan hotel room, angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, ignored her protests and raped her.
Weinstein’s lawyers have seized upon a reflective two days later. In it, she talked about her emotional attachment to a man she didn’t name and her conflicted feelings about their nonexclusive relationship, asking herself: 鈥淒o I love him or the idea of him?鈥� The note, which wasn’t mentioned at Weinstein’s previous trials, doesn’t mention any alleged sexual assault.
Asked Friday why it didn’t, Mann paused and said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to write that down.鈥�
Her relationship with Weinstein continued, on and off, for years afterward. Mann has testified that she loved 鈥渁 part of him鈥� and 鈥渁lways tried to see the good in him,鈥� and that she was wary of crossing a well-connected man who flexed his power. He boasted that his 鈥渆nemies don鈥檛 step a foot in this town,鈥� she said.
On Friday, Weinstein lawyer took Mann back through various friendly and complimentary emails that she sent to or about Weinstein over the years. In one May 2013 text, she told a friend that 鈥淚 like the Harvey we know. I feel some sense of protection.鈥�
Mann told jurors he helped her navigate the movie industry, and 鈥渢here was a time when I felt he did protect me.鈥�
Through testimony that spanned five days and centered on events 13 years ago, Mann often said she couldn’t recall various events and particulars, especially dates. As questioning came to a close, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg sought to cement that Mann had accurately remembered the alleged rape.
鈥淎re those details clear in your mind as you sit here today?鈥� Blumberg asked.
鈥淚 remember,鈥� Mann said, and was told there were no more questions. She walked, sobbing, from the room.
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