Alleged rapist and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein awaits upcoming criminal trial on January 6th, in which he faces charges of predatory sexual assault, a criminal sexual act, first-degree rape and third-degree rape. Since October 2017, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sex crimes, including from harassment, assault, and rape, the latest of which was a Polish model who was 16-years-old at the time of the alleged assault. He has pleaded not-guilty to all of these crimes, and insists that none of the allegations are true. Weinstein reflected on the situation to CNN recently, stating, "The past two years have been grueling and have presented me with a great opportunity for self-reflection. I realize now that I was consumed with my work, my company and my drive for success. This caused me to neglect my family, my relationships and to lash out at the people around me. I have been in rehab since October 2017, and have been involved in a 12-step program and meditation. I have learned to give up my need for control.”
If found not guilty, he plans "to focus on my children, my health and rest." However, he also believes that it is "possible for him to rebuild a career in the film industry." Though he admits "it will take a bit of work to build back to it," Weinstein thinks he "can get back to doing something good and building places that help heal and comfort others." "If I can do something positive to advance the causes that I had always championed," he said, "I hope to find a way to do so." He believes that “the public’s biggest misconceptions" about him "come from the assumptions that have been made through the help of media.”
The impending trial will center on an allegation made by a woman who claimed that she was raped by Weinstein in a New York hotel room in 2013, and another by a woman who accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her at his apartment in Manhattan in 2006. Other accusers will be given the opportunity to take the stand as witnesses to help the attempt to prove a pattern of abusive behavior. The Time's Up Movement posted a statement by 25 of the women who have "[come] forward to report Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct," emphasizing what the trial means to them. In part of the statement, they wrote, "This trial is critical to show that predators everywhere will be held accountable and that speaking up can bring about real change. We refused to be silenced and will continue to speak out until this unrepentant abuser is brought to justice."
