A newly discovered written account from one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers might just hurt the case against the producer.
Lucia Evans has accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, but one of her written accounts suggests her encounter was consensual.
Despite issues, prosecutors have decided not to drop Evans from the case. The sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein is in danger of falling apart in light of an accuser’s written account that suggests her encounter was consensual. Lucia Evans has accused the movie mogul of forcing her to perform oral sex on him at his Tribeca office in 2004, when she was still a 21-year-old aspiring actress. But a law enforcement source has declared that the personal notes she had left on a company computer, which a previous employer turned over, “indicate it was consensual, friendly. ”A source told The Post that the new information has “caused a split” within Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. ’s office, and that “some believe the charges should be dropped and that there’s a problem [with this complainant].
”Nevertheless, it was decided not to drop Evans from the case. Another damaging concern was the NYPD lead investigator’s reported failure to turn over a casting director’s statements, which recounted Evans saying she had performed the sex act to land an acting gig. Meanwhile, the DA’s office declined to comment on the issue. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice James Burke is set to decide this Thursday on whether to dismiss count five of the indictment related to Evans. It will also be decided whether to lift the protective order which keeps the disclosures under seal — disclosures that Weinstein’s defense lawyer, Ben Brafman, has reportedly lobbied to make public. The charges of rape, predatory sex assault, and criminal sex acts could have the former Miramax boss facing life imprisonment. Brafman had previously argued that the case should be dismissed after prosecutors hid the fact that his client had a “long-term, consensual” relationship with one of the accusers, with whom Weinstein exchanged 400 emails during the “weeks and years after the alleged rape. ” In February 2017, around four years after the alleged sex attack, her email read, “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call. ”Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon insisted that their presentation to the grand jury was complete and fair, and that none of the emails indicated that the accuser was denying she was raped. Carrie Goldberg, Evans’ lawyer, declared that her client “has sacrificed everything for her day in court to hold Harvey Weinstein responsible for sexual assault,” and since “getting to the truth is the very purpose of trials,” they have “utmost confidence that her testimony and supporting evidence will prove his guilt. ”
