Closing arguments in the second New York sex crimes trial of Harvey Weinstein were set to begin on Tuesday, six weeks after prosecutors began laying out their case against him.
Mr. Weinstein, the disgraced former Hollywood producer, is charged with attacking three women in Manhattan between 2006 and 2013. He was previously convicted of rape and a criminal sexual act about five years ago and had begun serving a 23-year state prison sentence when the conviction was overturned on appeal last spring.
Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, and other prosecutors in his office opted to charge Mr. Weinstein again almost immediately, eventually bringing two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act and one count of third-degree rape against him.
Over the past month and a half, prosecutors have sought to establish that Mr. Weinstein used his power in Hollywood to sexually assault and “exert enormous control” over the three women, all of whom were seeking work in the film and television industry.
He offered the women scripts and promises of fame, and he “used those dream opportunities as weapons,” Shannon Lucey, an assistant district attorney, said during her opening statement.
In all, prosecutors called 24 witnesses during the retrial, including Mr. Weinstein’s former assistants; friends and relatives of his accusers; and workers at the hotels where he is accused of attacking the women.
But they did not seek to present the jury with the accounts of women who accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual assaults that did not lead to charges. Relying on such so-called prior bad acts testimony led to Mr. Weinstein’s earlier conviction being overturned.
Mr. Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty, and he did testify at either trial.
The women who prosecutors built their case around — Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann and Kaja Sokola — told jurors they met Mr. Weinstein when they were young and dreaming of careers in Hollywood. They said they believed he could help them achieve their aspirations.
All three acknowledged that they had maintained relationships of some kind with him after what they described as his attacks on them, contacting him about work and other industry opportunities. Ms. Mann testified that she had considered having a romantic relationship with Mr. Weinstein at one point.
To bolster the women’s testimony, prosecutors called a clinical psychologist who told the jury that it is not unusual for victims to remain amicable with their attackers after an assault.
Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers said the continuing contact proved that their client had consensual relationships with the women.
“They were flirtatious, they were friendly, they wanted him, they needed him, he could change the trajectories of their lives,” one of Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, Arthur L. Aidala, said at the start of the trial. Mr. Weinstein would get the women jobs, Mr. Aidala said, and they, “fooled around with him consensually.”
In an effort to counter the accusers’ testimony, Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers cross-examined them at length about their emails and phone calls in the years after they said he had attacked them. The defense lawyers questioned the women aggressively about settlements they had received in connection with their accusations and about how much time had passed before they told people about Mr. Weinstein’s attacks.
Once the closing arguments finish, the case will be in the hands of the 12 Manhattan residents who were chosen for the jury from a pool of nearly 300 prospective people.
Mr. Weinstein’s downfall helped propel the broader #MeToo movement, ushering in a reckoning over the sexual assault and harassment of women worldwide. It began in 2017, after investigations by The New York Times and The New Yorker found that he had paid off sexual harassment accusers for decades.
As he rose in prominence as a Hollywood producer, amassing influence and collecting accolades for movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare In Love,” Mr. Weinstein also used his power to harass and sexually assault women, according to dozens of women who have accused him.
The retrial, which began in April, was the second time Ms. Haley and Ms. Mann testified against Mr. Weinstein. Ms. Sokola did not testify at the first trial and was added to the case last year.
The earlier trial ended in a split verdict, with the jury convicting Mr. Weinstein of rape and criminal sexual act while acquitting him on three other charges, including accusations that he was a sexual predator.
Last year, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, overturned the conviction in a 4-to-3 decision. The judges said that Mr. Weinstein had been deprived of a fair trial when prosecutors called the witnesses to describe the alleged prior bad acts.
Separately, Mr. Weinstein faces a federal lawsuit filed by Crystal McKinney, a former model who accuses him of sexually assaulting her and her friend at a Manhattan hotel in 2003. Ms. McKinney has leveled similar charges against the music mogul Sean Combs, who is currently on trial on federal sex-trafficking and racketeering charges in Manhattan.
In a statement, a lawyer for Mr. Weinstein, Imran H. Ansari, said his client “categorically denies the outlandish and fantastical claims made against him.”
Hurubie Meko is a Times reporter covering criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state courts.
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