Harvey Weinstein Rape Trial Begins In New York City

NEW YORK CITY — Harvey Weinstein did not face a crowd of accusers who gathered outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday to watch him head into the first day of his rape trial.

"He was a coward, he couldn't make eye contact with us," said Sarah Ann Masse, a former nanny who says Weinstein assaulted her in 2008.

"Standing with my sisters and standing in strength and seeing him, and seeing how cowardly he was just showed me how far we've come."

Weinstein, 67, will stand trial on rape and sexual assault charges two years after dozens of sexual assault accusations against him launched the #MeToo movement.

The disgraced media mogul — who stands accused of raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006 — has pleaded not guilty and maintains that any sexual activity was consensual.

The top charge against him, predatory sexual assault, carries a maximum life sentence and relies in part on testimony from "Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra, who says Weinstein raped her in 1993 or 1994.

Hours after Weinstein entered the Manhattan courtroom, the Los Angeles prosecutors announced they brought a sex crimes indictment against him.

Jury selection begins this week.

Weinstein was first booked on rape charges in March 2018, about five months after the New York Times and New Yorker released ground-breaking reports detailing years of sexual misconduct accusations made by some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Since then, more than 80 women have come forward with similar stories.

Weinstein also faced a number of civil cases but ultimately reached a tentative multimillion-dollar settlement in December.

Fox News reporter and actress Lauren Sivan, who has accused Weinstein of masturbating into a potted plant in front of her, was present to express support to the women testifying against him, she said.

"I send strength to those women, because they're heroes to us," she said. "I expect it to be a really tough legal argument."

Sivan said watching him walk into the courtroom made her feel powerful.

"Two years ago, he was still king of Hollywood," Sivan said. "Now he's in a courthouse prepared to start a rape trial. That's huge."