Golden Globes voters hit with antitrust lawsuit

Yahoo – AFP, 4 August 2020

HFPA President Lorenzo Soria is named as a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit
against the group which awards the Golden Globes each year (AFP Photo/Robyn BECK)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The exclusive group of film journalists that awards the Golden Globes was accused Monday of sabotaging non-members while gorging on lavish perks and unparalleled access to Hollywood stars.

An antitrust lawsuit filed against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said the organization illegally monopolized entertainment reporting in Los Angeles while creating near-impossible barriers to entry for new members.

"All year long, HFPA members enjoy all-expenses-paid trips to film festivals around the world where the studios treat them lavishly and accommodate their every desire," said the suit brought by Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa.

"Qualified applicants for admission to the HFPA are virtually always rejected because the majority of its 87 members are unwilling to share or dilute the enormous economic benefits they receive as members," it adds.

The HFPA wields considerable power due to its annual Golden Globes -- one of Tinseltown's biggest and glitziest award shows, which is seen as a key step to success at the all-important Oscars.

Yet its membership -- which exclusively decides who walks away with the coveted Globes each year -- is shrouded in mystery.

Though some members work for well-respected foreign media outlets, many are freelancers writing for obscure publications.

The lawsuit details instances of members being wined and dined by Hollywood studios, including a Disney press trip to a Singapore five-star hotel last year.

"The studios, of course, resent having to lavish enormous sums of money on, and being required to cater to, the desires of a few dozen aging journalists who are regularly heard snoring through screenings, but given the importance of the Golden Globes, they see no way to end the farce," says the lawsuit.

Flaa, the plaintiff, applied for membership in 2018 and last year, but was rejected both times.

In her lawsuit, she accuses rival Scandinavian journalists of blocking her entry even though she is qualified to join according to HFPA criteria.

Any foreign journalist seeking entry must be sponsored by two members, and a newcomer's application can be rejected if one member of the association vetoes it.

The HFPA, which has yet to be served with the complaint, denied the allegations and accused Flaa of "ongoing attempts to shake down the HFPA."

"The HFPA has refused to pay ransom, telling Ms Flaa that membership was not gained through intimidation," the group said in a statement to AFP.

"Ms Flaa and her attorney are now asking a court to order her into the organization and pay her.

"The HFPA takes seriously its obligations as an organization and its dedication to foreign journalism and philanthropy, and it will vigorously defend against these baseless claims."

Hollywood rapist Harvey Weinstein jailed for 23 years

Yahoo – AFP, Thomas URBAIN, March 11, 2020

Harvey Weinstein was brought from the notorious Rikers Island jail into the
Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

New York (AFP) - Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault Wednesday, capping a sensational downfall for the once-powerful producer in a landmark case for the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, who turns 68 next week, faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after New York Justice James Burke rebuffed his pleas for the minimum five-year sentence.

The judge, issuing a heavy term close to the maximum 29 years allowed, was unmoved by a rambling statement Weinstein made to the court in which he failed to express any remorse for his actions or apologize to victims.

"I'm totally confused," Weinstein said, before blaming the #MeToo global reckoning against men abusing positions of power for his predicament.

"I was the first example and now there are of thousands of men being accused. I'm worried about this country," he added.

The sentencing completed a dramatic fall from grace for the titan-turned-pariah, who lost much of his $150 million fortune fighting allegations that surfaced in October 2017.

Nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, have come forward alleging 40 years of vile predatory behavior by the Oscar-winning producer of "Shakespeare in Love" and numerous other critical and box office hits.

Mimi Haleyi walks into the courtroom for sentencing of movie mogul Harvey 

Weinstein on March 11, 2020 in New York City (AFP Photo/Roy Rochlin)

The Silence Breakers -- a group of 24 Weinstein accusers that includes Ashley Judd, Rosanna Arquette and Rose McGowan -- said Weinstein's legacy would always be his rape conviction.

"He is going to jail -- but no amount of jail time will repair the lives he ruined, the careers he destroyed, or the damage he has caused," they said in a statement.

Weinstein was taken away from the Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair as the six accusers who testified at his trial, including actress Annabella Sciorra of "The Sopranos," hugged in the front row.

Members of the public clapped as the accusers and prosecutors walked out of the courtroom.

'No longer hiding'

Weinstein was found guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree on February 24. His lawyers have appealed.

Seven men and five women convicted him of raping ex-actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.

Mann, 34, and Haleyi, 42, delivered powerful victim impact statements Wednesday.

Haleyi said being attacked by Weinstein had "diminished my confidence and faith in people."

Former Actress Jessica Mann (R) delivered a powerful impact statement at 

Weinstein's sentencing (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

Mann said his conviction had given her the strength to rebuild her life.

"My monsters are no longer hiding in my closet," she told the court.

The producer -- famous for his hard-nosed approach to work and Oscars campaigns -- was cleared of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, as well as rape in the first degree.

But prosecutors called on Burke to issue a lengthy jail term, saying Weinstein engaged in a "lifetime of abuse" and had shown "a total lack of remorse" for his actions.

In a pre-sentencing letter, the prosecution asked the judge to consider 36 other sexual abuse and harassment allegations against Weinstein dating back to the 1970s that were not part of the trial.

"He held all cards and played them at his will," lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said in court.

Weinstein's team suggested Burke should take into account the achievements of a man whose films received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.

"His life story, his accomplishments, and struggles are simply remarkable and should not be disregarded in total because of the jury's verdict," the lawyers wrote in a pre-sentencing memo.

Attorney Gloria Allred speaks outside the courthouse following the sentencing 

of Harvey Weinstein at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. Weinstein was 

sentenced to 23 years in prison two weeks after he was convicted of rape 

and sexual assault. (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)

Weinstein also pleaded with Burke that he may never see his five children again, the youngest two of whom are under ten years old.

Weinstein's counsel regularly clashed with Burke during the trial, even claiming at one point that he was biased against their client.

'On notice'

Afterwards, lead attorney Donna Rotunno suggested the intense media coverage of the trial had meant the judge "probably felt a type of pressure" to send a message

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr thanked the court for putting "sexual predators on notice" and praised his accusers "indescribable courage" throughout the case.

"Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world," he said in a statement.

Outside court, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Sciorra and Haleyi, gleefully held up a sign that read "20 + 3 years," the sentences Weinstein received for each count.

Tarale Wulff, who testified that Weinstein raped her when she was a cocktail waitress, expressed joy that the sentence was more than she expected.

"For the first time I can say I feel a sense of happiness," Wulff told reporters.

Weinstein is expected to be incarcerated outside New York City. He will likely later be taken to Los Angeles where he faces other sex crimes charges.

Harvey Weinstein convicted of sexual assault and rape in 'new era' for #MeToo

Yahoo – AFP, Peter HUTCHISON, February 24, 2020

Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court where he would be
convicted on two charges of sexual assault and rape (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

New York (AFP) - Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of sexual assault and rape but cleared of the most serious predatory sexual assault charges, a verdict hailed as a historic victory by the #MeToo Movement against sexual abuse.

The jury of seven men and five women, delivering their decision before a packed New York courtroom, found the once powerful Hollywood producer guilty of criminal sexual acts in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

However, the 67-year-old Oscar-winner whose films included "Shakespeare In Love" was found not guilty of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault, charges that could have seen him jailed for life.

He instead faces up to 29 years in prison on the two felony convictions.

The ashen-faced defendant, who attended the trial hunched over a walker, showed little emotion in the moments after the verdict was delivered. He was later taken into custody pending sentencing, which was scheduled for March 11.

Harvey Weinstein lawyer Donna Rotunno vowed an appeal of the two guilty 

charges against the disgraced film producer (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

His lawyer Donna Rotunno vowed an appeal, saying "the fight is not over" and applauding Weinstein for taking the decision "like a man."

The mixed verdict offered a large measure of vindication for the dozens of women who made allegations against him.

It was the most high-profile sex assault conviction in the United States since Bill Cosby was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years prior.

The Time's Up foundation, formed in the wake of the Weinstein case, celebrated the outcome as marking "a new era of justice."

"Abusers everywhere and the powerful forces that protect them should be on notice: There's no going back," it said in a statement.

Manhattan's top prosecutor Cyrus Vance praised the women who testified against him as having changed "the course of history."

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and former producer Harvey Weinstein, once the

 toast of Hollywood but now disgraced for sex crimes, shown here in 2016 (AFP Photo/

FREDERIC J. BROWN)

"This is the new landscape for sexual violence survivors. This is a new day," Vance told reporters outside the New York courthouse.

"We all owe an immense debt to you, who had the courage beyond measure to speak your story to the world, to the courtroom, at great personal risk, and in great personal pain."

'Public service'

More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since allegations against him ignited a global reckoning against men abusing positions of power in October 2017.

But with many claims too old to prosecute, the jury considered charges related to just two: ex-actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Mimi Haleyi.

The predatory sexual assault charges included testimony from "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment in the winter of 1993-94.

Former Actress Jessica Mann arrives for the trial of Harvey Weinstein at the 

Manhattan Criminal Court, on January 31, 2020 (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

Six women took the stand to say they had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

They were subjected to ferocious cross-examination as Weinstein's defense team argued that his relationships were consensual and transactional.

The prosecution cast Weinstein as a conniving predator who demanded sex in exchange for access to a film universe where he reigned, but presented no forensic evidence or witness accounts.

The state's case instead rested on asking the jury to believe the women.

Ashley Judd, who has said Weinstein destroyed her film career after she rejected his sexual advances, tweeted thanks after the verdict dropped: "For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you."

Annabella Sciorra's allegation was too old to be prosecuted as an individual crime 

but she was included in the indictment to bolster the predatory sexual assault charge 

(AFP Photo/SPENCER PLATT)

Next stop, LA

Weinstein, who has always said his sexual relations were consensual, was charged with raping former actress Mann in the DoubleTree hotel in midtown Manhattan in 2013.

He was also charged with forcing oral sex on former production assistant Haleyi at his New York apartment in July 2006 while she was on her period.

The charges of predatory sexual assault, a serious sex crime committed against more than one person, were the most grave and carried a sentence of life in prison.

For the jury to convict Weinstein of that they would have had to believe either Mann or Haleyi plus Sciorra.

Main developments leading to the sex crimes trial of Harvey Weinstein (AFP Photo/

Gal ROMA)

Sciorra's allegation was too old to be prosecuted as an individual crime but she was included in the indictment to bolster the predatory sexual assault charge.

Ex-model Lauren Young had also told the court that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013 when she was a 22-year-old aspiring actress.

Eyes now turn to Los Angeles, where Young's allegations form part of a separate sex crimes investigation against Weinstein being carried out by prosecutors in the California city.

Los Angeles prosecutors accuse him of raping an Italian model in February 2013 and of assaulting Young the following night.

Weinstein drew up 'red flag list' of women, rape trial told

Yahoo – AFP, Peter HUTCHISON, January 24, 2020

Harvey Weinstein (C), shown arriving at the Manhattan Criminal Court on
January 24, 2020, faces life imprisonment if convicted of predatory sexual assault
charges related to two women (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

New York (AFP) - Harvey Weinstein told a private investigator to approach women he suspected were detailing sexual misconduct allegations against him to journalists, his rape trial was told Friday, as the court heard from Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez.

Two months before the #MeToo movement ignited in late 2017, the then Hollywood titan emailed a "red flag list" of people he wanted investigated, prosecutors and a witness said in the high-profile proceedings which began hearing testimony this week.

The list included dozens of names, some of which were highlighted in red to indicate individuals that the now-disgraced movie producer was most concerned about.

They included the actress Rose McGowan, who Weinstein claimed was trying to extort him, and "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra, who accused him of rape in graphic testimony on Thursday.

Weinstein, 67, faces life imprisonment if convicted of predatory sexual assault charges related to two women.

He is accused of raping actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi.

Investigator Sam Anson told the New York court that he received the email from Weinstein on August 17, 2017 but did not carry out his instructions.

Anson, who now works for LA-based Guidepost Solutions but then ran his own firm, testified that he also had a telephone conversation with Weinstein around the same time.

"He said that there was concern that articles were being written about him that would discuss his sexual conduct in a negative way," Anson recalled.

'He'll destroy me'

The New York Times and New Yorker magazine detailed sexual assault allegations against Weinstein in October 2017, sparking the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.

More than 80 women, including Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, have since accused him of sexual misconduct.

Actress Rosie Perez, nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for 1993 film "Fearless," testified Friday that she spoke to Sciorra on the phone the night of the alleged attack almost 30 years ago.

Weinstein waved at her as Perez was asked to pick him out in the courtroom.

"Annabella said, 'I think something bad happened. I think it was rape," Perez, 55, said.

Several months later, in 1994, she learned from Sciorra that the perpetrator had been Weinstein, Perez added.

"I said, 'Please go the police.' But she said, 'I can't, he'll destroy me."

Defense attorney Damon Cheronis accused Perez of contradicting the account she gave journalist Ronan Farrow in his New Yorker article when she said she learned of the attack well after it occurred.

He said now her story "mirrored" Sciorra's.

The prosecution also called former playboy model Kara Young who told the court that while watching the 1994 Oscars at a friend's house she noticed that Sciorra had cuts on her upper thighs.

"She said she was cutting herself," Young, 45, said, bolstering Sciorra's testimony that she started self-harming after the alleged attack.

Rape 'myths'

Weinstein says all his sexual relationships were consensual.

Defense attorneys have presented correspondence between Mann and Weinstein which they say show the pair were "in a loving relationship."

Early Friday, the prosecution called forensic psychiatrist Barbara Ziv to dispel several "myths" surrounding rape.

Ziv, who testified when comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault, said victims of sexual assault commonly remain in contact with their attacker for years after the incident.

"That contact can range from text messages to emails to continuing a relationship with them," she said.

The psychiatrist said victims often keep quiet because they possess some sort of affection for the abuser or because the perpetrator may also have the power to wreck their job and other relationships.

"I can handle this trauma but God forbid they could ruin the rest of my life and make it impossible for me to go on," victims sometimes think, Ziv said.

Cheronis challenged Ziv on whether women ever report a consensual sexual encounter as a rape years later "out of shame."

"Anything is possible, (but) it's not usual," she replied.

The trial continues.

Underage rape probe opened into French author Matzneff

Yahoo – AFP, Eleonore DERMY, January 3, 2020

In the book "Consent", Springora describes how she was seduced at the age
of 14 by Matzneff (AFP Photo/Martin BUREAU)

Paris (AFP) - Paris prosecutors on Friday opened a rape investigation into the author Gabriel Matzneff, a day after the publication of a book detailing his sexual relationship with a girl of 14 over three decades ago.

The case has attracted huge interest in France, which is only now beginning to scrutinise attitudes after decades of what is seen by some as an overly permissive attitude towards sexual exploitation of women and paedophilia.

The probe was launched after an examination of the book "Consent", published on Thursday, where author Vanessa Springora describes a sexual relationship she had with Matzneff in the mid-1980s when he was 36 years her senior, Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement.

Heitz said the inquiry would focus on "rapes committed against a minor" aged under 15.

In "Consent", Springora, 47, now a leading publisher, describes how she was seduced at the age of 14 by Matzneff and how this left lasting scars.

Matzneff, an essay writer long admired by some in French literary circles, never made any secret of his preference for sex with adolescent girls and boys.

In the mid-1970s, he published a notorious essay called "Les Moins de Seize Ans" ("Those Less than 16").

'All other victims'

Springora had indicated she did not intend to bring a criminal complaint against Matzneff. But the Paris prosecutors used their power to open an investigation of their own accord.

Heitz said that beyond the events described by Springora, the investigation "will work to identify all other eventual victims who could have been subjected to crimes of the same nature in France or abroad".

In France it is against the law to have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age of 15.

Gabriel Matzneff has denounced Springora's book, saying it attempts to 

portray him as "a pervert, a manipulator and a predator." (AFP Photo/

Jacques DEMARTHON)

It is possible that investigations into Springora's evidence could be restricted by the statute of limitations, which in 2018 was extended to 30 from 20 years for this kind of crime but is not retroactive.

The book comes in the age of #MeToo as France wrestles with a series of accusations by women who say they were exploited by men who often held positions of power.

In one of the most prominent recent cases, French actress Adele Haenel accused film director Christophe Ruggia of constantly harassing her from the age of 12 to 15. She has since filed a complaint against him.

And the controversy has intensified around French-Polish film director Roman Polanski, a fugitive from US justice since 1978 when he admitted to statutory rape of a 13 year-old, after he brought out his new film "An Officer and a Spy".

'Not what we experienced'

Matzneff has denied any wrongdoing and in a lengthy statement sent to the L'Express magazine claimed that there had been an "exceptional love" between him and Springora, and that he did not "deserve the ugly portrait" that had been painted of him.

"No, this is not me, this is not what we experienced together and you know it," said the writer, now 83, denouncing a book that he says tries to portray him as "a pervert, a manipulator and a predator".

In 2013, Matzneff was awarded the Renaudot prize for his essays on international affairs and philosophy, an award one member of the jury has now conceded was a mistake.

"It is clear that he would not have got the prize for one of his intimate journals," jury member Frederic Beigbeder told the Parisien daily. "This prize was a blunder."

In the book Springora writes: "Aged 14, you are not supposed to have a 50-year-old man waiting for you when you leave school, you are not supposed to live in a hotel with him, or find yourself in his bed with his penis in your mouth when you should be having a snack."

Ahead of the book's publication, French ministers rounded on Matzneff, with Culture Minister Franck Riester saying "having a literary aura is not a guarantee of impunity."

Weinstein agrees to $25 million settlement with accusers

Yahoo – AFP, December 12, 2019

Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein looked frail as he was
helped into the courtroom using a walking frame (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)

New York (AFP) - Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has reached a $25 million settlement with dozens of women who accused him of sexual misconduct, one of the women's lawyers told AFP on Wednesday.

The once-powerful producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Sin City", whose case sparked the #MeToo movement against sex crimes, faces a criminal trial next month that could see him jailed for life.

The payout from a separate civil case will be shared among more than 30 actresses and former employees who have sued the 67-year-old for offenses ranging from sexual harassment to rape.

Weinstein will not have to admit wrongdoing or pay from his own pocket, celebrity news portal TMZ said, with the bill instead being met by insurers for his bankrupt former movie studio, The Weinstein Company.

The deal will have to be signed by all parties and get court approval to resolve almost every misconduct lawsuit brought against him since 2017 and insulate company directors from future liability.

Weinstein's accusers include some of the world's most famous actresses -- including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek -- although none is part of the proceedings.

"Boardwalk Empire" actress Paz de la Huerta, who accused the producer of raping her in 2010, is expected to be part of the settlement, her lawyer Aaron Filler told AFP.

The criminal claims against him involve just two accusers, meaning the civil settlement represents the only chance of justice for the many women who have accused Weinstein of abuse.

But several accusers and their lawyers have denounced the deal.

"We plan to vigorously object to any provision that tries to bind victims who want to proceed with holding Harvey Weinstein accountable for his actions," said lawyer Douglas Wigdor, who is representing two women in claims against the producer.

Anti-sexual harassment campaign group Time's Up, created in the wake of accusations against Weinstein, said it hoped that the settlement brought Weinstein's victims "some small measure of long overdue justice" but added the size of the payout was inadequate.

"If this is the best the survivors could get, the system is broken," the group tweeted.

Bail doubled

Weinstein faces a criminal trial in January on charges of rape and forcibly performing oral sex on a woman.

Looking frail as he shuffled into a pre-trial hearing in Manhattan with a walking frame, he had his $1 million cash bail raised to $2 million in assets after prosecutors accused him of mishandling his ankle monitor.

Weinstein's legal team told the court he was scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday to relieve back pain from an injury in an August car accident.

"He is in pain. He's going to have surgery and he will be back in court on January 6," said attorney Donna Rotunno.

One of his accusers, 50-year-old Katherine Kendall, told The New York Times she was disappointed by the deal but had agreed to sign on because she didn't want other women to miss out on the payout.

"I don't love it, but I don't know how to go after him. I don't know what I can really do," said Kendall, who alleged that she was chased around by a naked Weinstein in his New York apartment.

Bill Cosby loses appeal after sexual assault conviction

Yahoo – AFP, December 10, 2019

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, seen here after being found guilty of drugging and
sexually assaulting a woman, lost his court appeal (AFP Photo/DOMINICK REUTER)

New York (AFP) - US comedian Bill Cosby, who is serving a three and a half year jail term, on Tuesday lost his appeal against his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years ago.

Cosby had appealed to Pennsylvania's Superior Court, which issued a 94-page ruling upholding his conviction. He could now take his case to the state's Supreme Court.

"We are very pleased with today's Superior Court decision affirming the jury’s guilty verdict ... as well as the sentence," district attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.

"With this decision, it has been affirmed that no one is above the law."

The 82-year-old, who shattered racial barriers with his role as a dad and doctor on the hit TV series "The Cosby Show," (1984-1992), was found guilty in 2018 of assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion.

It was the first celebrity trial and first guilty verdict for sexual assault since the advent of the #MeToo movement.

A Pennsylvania judge sentenced the actor to a minimum three and a half years in prison on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

An earlier trial in June 2017 ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Although more than 60 women charged that they had been victims of sexual assault by Cosby, he was tried criminally only for Constand's assault, since the statute of limitations had expired in the other cases.

Cosby insists he was unjustly convicted, and his lawyers argued in the appeal that five women should not have been allowed to testify at the retrial.

But the appeals court ruled that their evidence had established Cosby's "unique sexual assault playbook."

The women's evidence "tended to undermine any claim that appellant was unaware of or mistaken about victim's failure to consent to the sexual contact," the ruling said.

A dozen women who say they were victims of Cosby have filed civil suits against the actor seeking compensation for damages.

When contacted by AFP, Cosby's lawyers did not immediately say whether he would pursue a further appeal.

Film producer Harvey Weinstein, whose case sparked the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, is due to stand trial in New York in January.

Weinstein prosecutor calls for higher bail, cites flight risk

Yahoo – AFP, 6 December 2019

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan
courtroom for a bail hearing -- prosecutors want his bail to be raised

New York prosecutors on Friday called for Harvey Weinstein's bail to be increased to $5 million, arguing that the disgraced Hollywood mogul -- accused of sex crimes -- had violated the conditions of his release and could try to flee the country.

The once-powerful film producer, whose case sparked the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, appeared in a Manhattan court for a hearing on his bail conditions, as his trial looms on January 6.

As well as the $1 million bail already set, the 67-year-old, who faces charges of rape and forcibly performing oral sex on a woman, has had his passport confiscated and wears an electronic tracking bracelet.

Weinstein, looking frail as he was helped by lawyers into the courtroom, is allowed to travel around the United States as long as he informs the authorities any time he leaves New York state, where he lives.

But prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon however said that on numerous occasions, the producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love" had been untraceable -- in violation of the terms of his release.

On two occasions in September and October, the radio silence had lasted for several hours, prompting the district attorney's office to send an investigator to his home north of New York City.

Since he always travels outside New York by private jet and has access to "almost unlimited resources," Illuzzi-Orbon argued that "this man could fly out in a private jet and go to another country, like that."

"We just want to make sure he is here for the trial," she said, requesting the bail increase.

Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein's lawyers, blamed the gaps in transmission on a lack of cell phone towers in rural Bedford, where her client lives.

"These are nothing more than technical glitches," she said. "He employs someone to make sure this is handled."

"There was never an attempt to remove the bracelet," she said, adding that her client "is anxious to comply with court orders... he is anxious to go to trial."

Judge James Burke made no decision on Friday but said the court would reconvene on Wednesday.

French first lady forwarded Polanski rape accuser's letters to officials

Yahoo – AFP, Anne Pascale REBOUL, November 9, 2019

Polanski has been a fugitive from US justice for years (AFP Photo/Valery HACHE)

Paris (AFP) - French first lady Brigitte Macron forwarded two letters written to her by a former model who has accused Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski of raping her as a teenager to two members of the government, her office said Saturday.

Valentine Monnier on Friday became the latest woman to accuse the acclaimed Polish-French film director of rape, telling France's Le Parisien newspaper that the alleged incident occurred in 1975 when she was 18 at Polanski's chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad.

Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Monnier said she had written letters about the alleged rape to Los Angeles police and to the French first lady as well as to the French Culture Minister Franck Riester and Secretary of State for Equality between Men and Women Marlene Schiappa.

Macron's office said they had found the 2018 letter in which Monnier complained that had had no response from Schiappa's office.

It said Monnier had been sent a reply in February last year stating "that Brigitte Macron cannot intervene in judicial processes" and copied that letter to Schiappa.

Monnier "wrote again in 2019 about the financing of a Polanski film by the culture ministry and we responded while copying it to Franck Riester," Brigitte Macron's office said.

Schiappa wrote to Monnier in March last year and hailed her courage "in daring to break the silence of 42 years" and adding that she understood her trauma while underscoring that such things were to be dealt by the judicial system.

Monnier told Le Parisien that the alleged rape was "extremely violent", adding that Polanski "pummelled me until I gave in and then raped me, making me do all sorts of things."

She said she recounted what had happened to her that very night to two women who were also staying in Polanski's chalet: her best friend and another woman who became Polanski's girlfriend for four years.

Both women were contacted by Le Parisien and confirmed Monnier's version.

Other accusations

Monnier, who acted in a few films in the 1980s, said she had finally decided to speak out as Polanski's new film about an error of justice was due to come out.

Polanski's lawyer Herve Temime said the director "firmly denies all accusations of rape," adding that the allegations "which date back 45 years have never been reported to judicial authorities".

Polanski has also been accused of sexual assault by others. In 2010, British actress Charlotte Lewis accused him of "sexually abusing" her in 1983 when she was 16.

Another woman, identified only as Robin, accused him in August 2017 of sexual assault when she was 16 in 1973.

In September 2017, former actress Renate Langer filed a new complaint alleging she had been raped by Polanski in 1972 when she was 15.

Polanski, who directed "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown", was accused of drugging a 13-year-old girl before raping her at film star Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles in 1977.

He admitted statutory rape after a number of more serious charges were dropped, and spent 48 days in custody to undergo psychiatric evaluation before being released.

In 1978, convinced a judge was going to scrap his plea deal and send him to prison for decades, Polanski fled to France and has been a fugitive from the US justice system ever since despite repeated attempts to have him extradited.

Plans for Polanski to preside over the Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscars, were abandoned in 2017, amid the fall-out from "Me Too" movement that started with accusations of sexual assault against US producer Weinstein.

Although awarded the 2003 Best Director Oscar for "The Pianist", Polanski was expelled from the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018.