DISTURBING details about the new allegations against Harvey Weinstein have been revealed as his sex crimes retrial begins.
Kaja Sokola is a new accuser who is set to face the disgraced movie producer in court. She alleges that he assaulted her multiple times, starting when she was just 16 years old.
Weinstein, aged 73, is now facing new charges from Sokola on top of being retried for criminal sexual assault and rape charges. This comes after his 2020 conviction was overturned on appeal last year.
According to prosecutors during opening statements at the Manhattan Supreme Court, Weinstein reportedly attacked Sokola during a meeting in 2006, which she believed was about discussing movie scripts.
Weinstein is accused of taking her up to a Manhattan hotel room and forcibly performing oral sex on her while she begged him, “Please don’t do this,” prosecutors said.
He allegedly assaulted Sokola when they first met over lunch in 2002, when she was just 16.
Weinstein picked her up in his car and took them back to his apartment, saying he needed to grab “some papers,” prosecutors said.
While inside the apartment, he demanded she take off her shirt and made a chilling comment before allegedly assaulting her.
“This is what happens in the industry,” he reportedly said.
After the attack, he reportedly name-dropped actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Penelope Cruz and bragged that he boosted both of the stars’ careers.
He then gave Sokola a vile word of advice, telling her she needed to “work on her stubbornness.”
Weinstein is charged in connection with the 2006 allegation, but not the one from 2002.
Sokola alleged he sexually assaulted her multiple times over multiple years, starting when she was a teen.
She previously sued him and received $3.5 million.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all allegations against him.
During opening remarks, his lawyer Arthur Aidala insisted Weinstein had “mutually beneficial relationships” with his alleged victims.
Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline
October 5, 2017 – An explosive story by New York Times reports Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over three decades. The piece sparks an avalanche of sexual assault allegations against him. Weinstein is fired from his own company, his wife leaves him, and the #MeToo movement is born.
October 10, 2017 – The New Yorker magazine releases a story detailing other accusations against Weinstein.
May 25, 2018: Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim, and first-degree criminal sex act for another, later revealed to be marketing executive Lucia Evans. The woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 has not been publicly identified. Weinstein is released after appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court and handing over his passport and a $1 million cashier’s check to cover his bail.
May 25, 2018 – Weinstein is arrested on charges of first and third degree rape for one victim and a first-degree criminal sex act for another. He is released after paying $1 million bail.
May 30, 2018 – Weinstein is indicted on the sex crimes charges.
June 5, 2018 – He pleads not guilty to all charges against him.
July 2, 2018 – A Manhattan grand jury charges Weinstein with additional sex crimes, including two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual assault.
October 11, 2018 – Prosecutors drop one of the six charges against Weinstein.
January 6, 2020 – The Los Angeles district attorney charges Weinstein with raping an Italian model in 2013.
February 24, 2020 – Weinstein is found guilty in his Manahttan trial of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree. He is sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York.
December 19, 2022 – A jury in Los Angeles convicts him of three of seven counts of sexual assault.
February 23, 2023 – Weinstein is sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape in his Los Angeles trial.
April 25, 2024 – In a bombshell decision, his New York conviction is overturned and a new trial is ordered.
April 23, 2025 – Weinstein’s retrial begins in New York with new accuser Kaja Sokola set to take the stand.
“In this case, the casting couch is not a crime scene,” Aidala said.
The rest of Weinstein’s retrial is over allegations from Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, who were both part of the original trial in 2020.
Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey told jurors during opening statements that the former Miramax head preyed on women by using “dream opportunities as weapons.”
As Lucey described the alleged horrific attacks Weinstein is accused of, he remained calm and avoided looking at the jury while sitting in his wheelchair.
Weinstein has suffered deteriorating health since being in custody at Rikers Island jail over the past five years.
Last week, a judge ruled Weinstein could stay in a hospital during his retrial rather than Rikers Island due to complaints about his prison conditions.
Weinstein has a tongue infection and suffers from diabetes and bone marrow cancer diagnosis.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
