“Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra took the witness stand on Thursday at the trial agains Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who she alleges violently raped her at her apartment. Sciorra’s testimony is the first and one of the most highly anticipated as Weinstein faces rape and sexual assault charges in New York.
Sciorra avoided using the mega-producer’s name — referring to him consistently as “the defendant” and positioned herself on the witness stand so that she was partially facing the jury as Weinstein sat over her right shoulder at the defense table.
Six women are expected to testify in the trial, and Weinstein is charged with crimes related to two of them. The rest, including Sciorra, are being called in support of prosecutors’ efforts to demonstrate a pattern of sexual predation. Actress Ellen Barkin sat in the back row of the gallery throughout Sciorra’s testimony, as did Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who sat in the front row behind his prosecutors.
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