In his closing, Weinstein’s defence attorney Alan Jackson emphasised the absence of physical evidence of the assaults, none of which were reported to authorities until years later. He told jurors two of the accusers were clearly lying, and the other two had reframed “transactional” and “100 per cent consensual” sexual acts with Weinstein as assaults after he became a magnet for the #MeToo movement in 2017.
“Regret is not rape,” Jackson said.
In his rebuttal, Thompson guided jurors back through the evidence for each woman. He said the defence failed to show that any of the women had gained anything “transactional” from Weinstein, or that they had anything to gain by lying.
“Where is the evidence that there is any motivation,” Thompson said, “other than to get justice for being sexually assaulted?”
Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench gave the jurors final instructions then gave them the case. They had just a few hours to deliberate on Friday afternoon before a weekend break.
Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence for a conviction in New York and could be sentenced to more than 60 years in prison in California if convicted on all counts.
