Harvey Weinstein's lawyer said Sunday he will not testify at his retrial on sex crimes charges in New York.
This means that a jury will soon begin considering the case against the former head of the film studio, who became one of the initiators of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
Arthur Aidala said Sunday evening that the trial would move to closing arguments Tuesday without Weinstein testifying.
The court hears other cases on Mondays.
It is unclear whether jury deliberations will begin Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
The decision was not an easy one for Weinstein, who had never testified in open court on any of the allegations made by the women. He did not testify in previous trials in New York and California and was convicted in both cases.
Weinstein denies all charges, and Aidal's lawyer said he thought long and hard about whether to testify this time.
While his appeal is pending in California, Weinstein won a new trial for assault and rape in New York when the state's supreme court overturned his 2020 conviction.
In New York, he is charged with raping Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcing oral sex on Miriam Haleyi and Kaia Sokola separately in 2006.
Jessica Mann was an actress and hairstylist, Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a model who aspired to an acting career.
All three women testified for days at the retrial, giving emotional and vivid accounts of what they said they endured at the hands of a powerful man who promised to help them achieve their show business dreams but then lured them into seclusion and assaulted them.
His lawyers claim that everything that happened between him and his accusers was consensual.
In the United States, criminal defendants are not required to testify, and many choose not to do so for various reasons.
Among them: the possibility of interrogation by prosecutors.
Weinstein watched the retrial in New York closely from the defense table, occasionally shaking his head in response to accusers' testimony and often leaning toward his lawyers to share his thoughts.
One of his lawyers, Aidala, said outside court on Thursday that Weinstein believed there were numerous inconsistencies in the accusers' testimony.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
