Actress Annabella Sciorra, whose account that Harvey Weinstein raped her did not result in convictions for the disgraced mogul during Monday’s trial, broke her silence by saying her testimony was ‘painful but necessary.’
Several hours after Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sex act, 59-year-old Sciorra released a statement.
‘My testimony was painful but necessary. I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart,’ she said.
‘While we hope for continued righteous outcomes that bring absolute justice, we can never regret breaking the silence. For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women.’
Weinstein was cleared of two counts of predatory sexual assault, which relied on Sciorra’s testimony.
By finding him not guilty on those counts, the jury indicated they did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Weinstein had raped and assaulted her at her apartment in Gramercy Park, New York.
Annabella Sciorra (left) spoke out about the Harvey Weinstein (left) verdict on Monday, after her accusations against the mogul did not result in any convictions
Sciorra is one of the six women who stepped forward and testified against the 67-year-old film produce during the New York trial.
In January, she claimed in a five hour testimony that Weinstein raped her in the winter of 1993 to 1994 and told jurors how she desperately tried to fight him off.
She told the courtroom that Weisntein entered her room and began unbuttoning his shirt.
Sciorra (pictured) said she doesn’t regret testifying, saying it was ‘painful but necessary’ and says she spoke ‘with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart’
‘He led me into the bedroom and he shoved me onto the bed. I can’t tell you exactly when his pants came off or exactly what happened. I don’t think his shirt ever got completely off,’ she said.
‘As I was trying to get him off of me — I was punching him, I was kicking him — and he took my hands and put them over my head, he put my hands over my head to hold them back and he got on top of me and he raped me. I couldn’t fight anymore because he had my hands locked.
‘It was just so disgusting that my body started to shake in a way that was very unusual. I didn’t even really know what was happening. It was like a seizure or something.
Sciorra accused Weinstein of raping her in the winter of 1993 to 1994 and told jurors that she tried to fight him off
‘I’m not sure if I fainted or fell asleep or blacked out, but I woke up on the floor with my nightgown kind of up and I didn’t know if something else had happened.’
After bumping into Harvey at a later date she said he menacingly warned her: ‘This remains between you and I.
At other points in the 1990s, Sciorra said that Weinstein sent her packages with Valium and a box of chocolate penises and turned up early one morning at her Cannes Film Festival hotel room in his underwear with the body oil and the videotape.
She said he left after she frantically pushed buttons on the room phone to summon help.
Sciorra said that roughly a month later, she ran into him and confronted him about what happened and he replied: ‘That’s what all the nice Catholic girls say.’
She claimed Weinstein then leaned toward her and added menacingly: ‘This remains between you and I.’
‘His eyes went black and I thought he was going to hit me right there,’ Sciorra testified.
Afterwards, she spiraled into cutting herself and drinking heavily, she told the jury.
She said she didn’t tell anyone at first about the alleged rape, not even her brothers, saying: ‘I wanted to pretend it never happened…I wanted to get back to my life.’
Her friend and fashion model Kara Young testified that a fidgety Sciorra ‘seemed a mess’ with long cuts on her legs when the two watched the Academy Awards together in 1994.
Do the Right Thing actress Rosie Perez also testified during the trial that Sciorra told her in the mid-1990s that Weinstein had raped her but that she couldn’t go to the police because ‘he’d destroy me.’
Weinstein’s lawyers later argued that Sciorra never went to police or a doctor about the alleged assault.
‘At the time, I didn’t understand that that was rape,’ she said.
The jury presiding in Weinstein’s case found him not guilty of two predatory assault charges against Sciorra and, due to the expired statue of limitations, could not try him of rape in her case.
Previously, Sciorra was pursuing one predatory assault charge with ex-production assistant Mimi Haleyi and the other with aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
The not guilty ruling on those charges came from a unanimous jury decision, which prompted them to begin considering lesser charges. This also allowed Weinstein to avoid two life sentences.
Although Weinstein was not convicted in any charges against Sciorra, he was found guilty of third-degree rape of Jessica Mann and a criminal sex act of Mimi Haleyi.
He now faces a maximum sentence of 29 years and was transported to Rikers Island in New York before he was rushed to the hospital for chest pains.
It was later confirmed that he was suffering from high blood pressure and having heart palpitations.
Despite not securing a conviction, several of Sciorra’s supporters spoke out and announced their solidarity with the actress.
Although Weinstein was not convicted in any charges against Sciorra, he was found guilty of third-degree rape of Jessica Mann (left) and criminal sex act of Mimi Haleyi (right)
Rosie Perez, an actress who testified at the trial as a secondary witness, tweeted support for her friend, Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra. ‘Harvey Weinstein has been handcuffed & taken to jail!
‘Harvey Weinstein has been handcuffed & taken to jail! Gutted for my dear friend #annabellasciorra who told the truth! Yet i congratulate her & all who came forward for their bravery. This is not enough but survivors take courage! This is still a great win! Congrats Joan Illuzzi!, Perez tweeted.
Actress Alyssa Milano also tweeted in support of Sciorra saying: ‘#IbelieveAnnabellaSciorra’.
Actress Amber Tamblyn shared the same hashtag on her Twitter.
Actress Alyssa Milano also tweeted in support of Sciorra, who testified at the trial and accused Weinstein of rape, saying: ‘#IbelieveAnnabellaSciorra’.
Actress Amber Tamblyn also threw her support behind accuser Annabella Sciorra
Several other accusers spoke out after the verdict, including Rose McGowan.
‘Today is a powerful day,’ McGowan said. ‘And a huge step forward in collective healing. 20 years ago I decided to come after Weinstein because I’d heard about him doing this to someone else, and then I heard him doing it to someone else, and someone else.’
‘Today, because of the brave women, who bared their deepest hurt for the world to see, he’s in Rikers Island.
‘For once he won’t be sitting comfortably. For once he will know what it’s like to have power wrapped around his neck. Today is not a referendum on #MeToo, this is taking out the trash,’ she added.
Rose McGowan, one of Weinstein’s earliest accusers, said Monday: ‘Because of the brave women, he’s in Rikers Island’. She tweeted: ‘Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing’
Weinstein still faces a sexual assault trial in Los Angeles, California, after he was accused of raping two women in 2013.
He is charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting the other on consecutive nights. The charges were announced the night before his New York rape trial started.
Weinstein is expected to appear in a Los Angeles court to hear the charges regardless of the New York trial’s outcome.
Los Angeles prosecutors said Weinstein and his unidentified accuser attended a Hollywood film festival on February 17, 2013.
After the woman returned to her hotel room, Weinstein knocked at her door and she let him in. They spoke briefly before she alleged he attacked and raped her.
Prosecutors said the woman delayed disclosing the alleged assault because, in part, Weinstein threatened her life.
The next evening, the second accuser – model and actress Lauren Marie Young who testified in New York – said she went to Weinstein’s hotel room with an acquaintance of hers following a business meeting.
The court documents say she unwittingly followed Weinstein into the bathroom and the acquaintance shut the door behind her. Weinstein stripped naked, took a brief shower, stripped the alleged victim naked and then masturbated before releasing her.
He faces up to 28 years in California prison if convicted on the charges.
In addition to the criminal cases, Weinstein is facing civil lawsuits filed by dozens of women for various allegations of sexual harassment or assault.