Woman can testify Weinstein used force to rape her despite his acquittal, judge rules

NEW YORK — A woman who says Harvey Weinstein trapped her in a Manhattan hotel room and raped her in 2013 can use the word “force” when she testifies at his retrial even though the disgraced movie mogul was acquitted of using physical force against her, a judge ruled Wednesday. Jurors acquitted Weinstein of first-degree rape in Mann’s case, a charge that requires proof of “forcible compulsion,” but convicted him of third-degree rape, which involves a lack of consent. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that letting Mann testify that he used physical force against her at a Manhattan hotel would open the door to telling jurors about his first-degree rape acquittal. At Weinstein’s 2020 trial, Mann alleged the studio boss trapped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her.