© Reuters
Producer Harvey Weinstein and wife, designer Georgina Chapman, arrive at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California February 22, 2015.
Producer Harvey Weinstein and wife, designer Georgina Chapman, arrive at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California February 22, 2015.
The model told cops that the Oscar-winning Hollywood producer sexually abused her after coaxing her to his Manhattan office on the pretext of talking business, sources told the Daily News.
The woman informed cops that Weinstein, a married 63-year-old father of five, groped her breasts and reached up her skirt around 6 p.m. Friday in his third-floor office at the Tribeca Film Center on Greenwich St., sources said.
"He asked if her breasts were real before touching them," a police source said. "She asked him to stop, and he put his hand up her skirt. He asked for a kiss; she responded 'No.'"
Once the model left Weinstein's office, she called a friend and described what happened, another police source said. The friend took her to the 9th Precinct stationhouse in the East Village, and officers there drove her to the 1st Precinct station in Tribeca to report the incident.
"She really was very upset," said a third police source.
Weinstein has been questioned by police. Sex-crime detectives for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. were expected to meet with the woman Monday to determine whether to file charges.
The accuser initially met Weinstein on Thursday at the red-carpet premiere of the Rockettes' "Spectacular" that he co-produced at Radio City.
"He initiated the contact," a police source said of Weinstein. "He saw her and spoke to her. She didn't know who he was until he approached her."
Weinstein's accuser told cops the film big shot gave her his card at Radio City and they exchanged emails on Friday to set up the afternoon meeting.
The woman went to Weinstein's office "at his request to talk business," a police source said.
NYPD Special Victims Squad detectives interviewed Weinstein on Saturday when he voluntarily met them at the 1st Precinct. During the interview, he asked to speak to his lawyer and was allowed to leave.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance footage from outside of Weinstein's office building to assess the woman's state when she left, sources said.
Weinstein skipped the premiere of his latest film "Women in Gold" at MoMA, which he was expected to attend with star Helen Mirren on Monday night. His representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
The News is withholding the name of the accuser, who works for a large Manhattan modeling agency, because of the sexual-abuse allegations.
Weinstein, estimated to be worth $200 million, is co-founder of Miramax and has produced numerous hit movies, including "Gangs of New York" and "Shakespeare in Love" — which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1999.
He is married to British stunner Georgina Chapman, 38, the fashion designer and co-founder of high-end label Marchesa. They were married in 2007, and have a 2-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.
Harvey Weinstein was questioned by the NYPD after a 22-year-old woman said he groped her. He was not immediately charged.
Weinstein has three older children from his first marriage to Eve Chilton Weinstein, his former assistant. They divorced in 2004.
Just last Tuesday, Weinstein was presented the Humanitarian Award by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he was touted for his work in fighting AIDS, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis and poverty.
In his acceptance speech, he praised his wife, saying, "Georgina has a very loving way with children." He also railed against anti-Semitism, imploring Jewish people to "get as organized as the Mafia" to fight it.
Weinstein — who hails from Flushing, Queens — and his brother, Bob, created Miramax in 1979. The independent film company was named after their parents Miriam and Max.
In the 1990s, the Weinsteins sold Miramax to Disney for $80 million. In 2005, they created their own production company called The Weinstein Company. The brothers have since received hundreds of Oscar nominations and have won scores of Academy Awards.
In September 2009, Weinstein spoke out against efforts to extradite director Roman Polanski from Switzerland to the U.S. to face 1977 charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old. Polanski pleaded guilty to the charges before fleeing the country.
Weinstein, whose company had distributed a film about the Polanski case, questioned whether Polanski committed any crime.
Who does he think he is, Bill Cosby?