If you value independent local news, become a sustainer today. Your gift could help unlock a $1M challenge.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAPD Confirms Harvey Weinstein Rape Investigation
(Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that they were investigating disgraced megaproducer Harvey Weinstein in relation to a sexual assault case that allegedly occurred in 2013. This is the first case against Weinstein under investigation in Southern California; police in New York and London are both already investigating multiple cases involving Weinstein.
The L.A. Times reports that a 38-year-old Italian model-actress met with LAPD detectives "for more than two hours" on Thursday morning, "providing a detailed account" of how Weinstein allegedly raped her at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after an Italian film festival in February 2013. Here is what she told the Times:
Later, he showed up “without warning” in the lobby of her hotel. He asked to come up to her room. She said she told him no and offered to meet him downstairs, but soon, he was knocking on her door. “He ... bullied his way into my hotel room, saying, ‘I’m not going to [have sex with] you, I just want to talk,’” the woman told The Times. “Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked. He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”
She told her attorney she tried to dissuade Weinstein by showing him pictures of her children.
After about 45 minutes, Weinstein departed.
Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister told the Times he has “unequivocally denied” all allegations of non-consensual sex.
“The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division has interviewed a potential sexual assault victim involving Harvey Weinstein which allegedly occurred in 2013,” LAPD Officer Tony Im said in a statement on Thursday afternoon. “The case is under investigation." The departmenthad previously urged potential victims of Weinstein to come forward, saying "We absolutely encourage anyone who may be a victim of sexual assault to come forward and report the crime."
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
