Los Angeles Police Are Investigating Harvey Weinstein For Rape

Yann Coatsaliou / AFP / Getty Images

Los Angeles police are investigating Harvey Weinstein for rape after an Italian actor filed a report alleging he sexually assaulted her in her hotel room in 2013.

It is the criminal sexual assault case to be opened against Weinstein in the Los Angeles area, where the movie mogul used his considerable power to mask his alleged misconduct.

Dozens of women have come forward to allege Weinstein sexually assaulted or harassed them after the New York Times and New Yorker published reports detailing some of their stories.

The woman at the center of the LA case was not identified by police officials, who took her statement on Thursday. The Los Angeles Times reported that the 38-year-old woman asked not to be named because she is fearful of retaliation and wants to protect her children’s privacy.

She told the Times that the assault occurred in February 2013 at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after she attended the 8th Annual Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest.

She alleges that Weinstein showed up at her hotel room knocking, and when she answered, forced his way in.

"Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked," the woman told the Times. "He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me."

She added that she had only met Weinstein once before in Rome.

After about 45 minutes in her Beverly Hills hotel room, Weinstein departed.

"When he left, he acted like nothing happened," the woman told the Times.

Attorneys and representatives for Weinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Weinstein's fall from grace has been swift and steep as more and more women have come forward in the wake of detailed accounts from the likes of Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie, alleging they were sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

Weinstein has since been booted from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America as the scandal puts Hollywood and its culture of silence on the front burner.

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2hQGQLZ