Protesters angered by the lack of prosecution of Harvey Weinstein in a sex assault case from two years ago held a rally Friday outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Protesters angered by the lack of prosecution of Harvey Weinstein in a sex assault case from two years ago held a rally Friday outside the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Protesters including women’s rights advocates and sexual assault survivors said District Attorney Cyrus Vance should have held Weinstein, who they call a serial predator, criminally responsible after hearing disturbing wire tap audio of an interaction between Weinstein and model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, one of his alleged victims, in 2015.
Gutierrez: Why yesterday you touch my breast?
Weinstein: Oh, please, I’m sorry. Just come on in, I’m used to that. Come on. Please.
Gutierrez: You’re used to that?
Weinstein: Yes, come in.
Gutierrez: No, but I’m not used to that.
Weinstein: I won’t do it again, come on, sit here.
The recording was obtained by The New Yorker and posted on the magazine’s website Tuesday:
Vance defending his decision this week, saying that while he was sickened and disturbed by the audio, there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute the case.
“Our sex crimes prosecutors made the determination that this was not going to be a provable case and so the decision was made not to go forward,” Vance said Wednesday.
Vance would not say if he returned contributions from Weinstein to his election campaign.
Other politicians pledged those past donations to charity.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who initially vowed to return some of the money, now says he will return all the Weinstein money.
“It’s the entitlement of too many men and it is epidemic,” actress Jane Fonda said of the allegations. She said she’s ashamed she did not speak out about this sooner, revealing she learned about the shocking allegations from actress Rosanna Arquette, a Weinstein accuser.
Fonda said she waited because it did not happen to her.
The list of Weinstein’s public accusers has grown to at least 35 women, describing inappropriate conduct with some alleging sexual harassment and some allegedly rape.
Actress Kate Beckinsale said when she was 17 “He opened the door in his bathrobe… A few years later he asked me if he had tried anything with me… I realized he couldn’t remember if he had assaulted me or not.”
Vance asked for alleged victims to come forward to his office.
Weinsten is denying any allegations of non-consensual sex and his people say he’s checked in to an Arizona facility.
Now more business colleagues are distancing themselves from Weinstein as he loses another source of income with the shutting down of Weinstein Books.
