LOS ANGELES — An Italian model whose testimony led to a Los Angeles jury finding Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape in December has filed a civil suit against the fallen film producer.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe 1, is suing Weinstein for sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other unnamed parties for negligence, according to a complaint filed in L.A. Superior Court on Thursday. In the complaint, the victim's attorneys wrote that "had said (unnamed parties) fulfilled their duties and responsibilities, Plaintiff would not have been assaulted or raped."
"Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of raping Jane Doe 1. Her lawsuit seeks to recover compensation from him for the horrific rape she endured and all of the issues she has suffered through for the past ten years because of that rape," attorney Dave Ring said in a statement. "We look forward to have Weinstein finally testify under oath in this case."
According to the suit, Weinstein, 70, assaulted the woman at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel following a film festival in 2013. The woman met Weinstein at an event but returned to her room alone. Weinstein showed up at the hotel "unannounced" and called her from the front desk or lobby and demanded that she tell him her room number, which she declined to do.
Weinstein still appeared at her door and "bullied his way into the room," where the woman was assaulted.
"He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do," she told the Los Angeles Times in 2017. "He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me."
The woman reported the assault to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017 amid the start of the #MeToo movement.
Following a trial that spanned weeks, Weinstein was convicted of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object in connection with the incident.
"Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night. I will never get that back," the woman said in a statement following the conviction. "But I knew I had to see this through to the end ... I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime."
However, the jury, which deliberated for more than nine days, acquitted Weinstein or could not reach a verdict on charges of rape and assault of three other women.
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence because of a 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault in New York.
He faces a 24-year-prison sentence in connection with the Los Angeles County conviction. It cannot be served until his New York sentence is served in full.
