Harvey Weinstein must face sex trafficking lawsuit, judge rules
Former Hollywood producer denies ever engaging in non-consensual sex
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Your support makes all the difference.Harvey Weinstein must face charges of violating sex trafficking laws filed by a British actress who says the former movie producer invited her to a hotel room in France before sexually assaulting her, a US judge has ruled.
The Manhattan judge denied Mr Weinstein’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed last year by actress Kadian Noble.
The US district judge, Robert Sweet, said the case must stand even though it was “not an archetypal sex trafficking action” because “the allegations plausibly establish” that Mr Weinstein may have violated the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Mr Weinstein’s lawyer, Phyllis Kupferstein, said in a statement that she would appeal Mr Sweet’s decision.
“We believe these claims are not legally or factually supported, and ultimately will not be sustained,” Ms Kupferstein said in a statement.
Mr Weinstein’s lawyers, broadly, argued that the case should be dismissed because sex trafficking law was meant to target “commercial” sex, which they say is not the case in the alleged Weinstein-Noble encounter as no payment was offered.
They further contended that the case could open up the floodgates, and would make the law cover “all sexual activity occurring between adults in which one party holds a superior position of power and influence”.
The judge’s decision is the latest in potentially criminal legal headaches for Mr Weinstein, who has been accused by more than 70 women of sexual misconduct, including rape, in accusations that date back decades.
Many of those women were young actresses or employed in the movie business, and Mr Weinstein has been accused of exploiting his position as a top producer to prey on the women.
Mr Weinstein is also facing criminal rape and sexual misconduct charges in Manhattan over allegations made by three other women. Those charges are separate from the lawsuit filed by Ms Noble.
Mr Weinstein has denied ever having non-consensual sex during his time working as a movie producer.
Reuters contributed to this report