‘Shakespeare in Love’ Producer Harvey Weinstein Questioned by Police for Allegedly Groping Italian Model Inside His Tribeca Film Center Office
Harvey Weinstein, 63, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, co-founder of Miramax, and also best known as the Academy Award-winning producer of the film Shakespeare in Love, has been invited by the police for questioning after a 22-year-old woman filed a complaint against him for alleged sexual abuse.
The complainant, an Italian model who works for a large Manhattan modeling agency, told the investigators that Weinstein groped her private parts inside his Manhattan office at the Tribeca Film Center where he invited her on the pretense of talking business. The New York Daily News, quoting an unnamed police source, wrote: "He asked if her breasts were real before touching them. She asked him to stop and he put his hand up her skirt. He asked for a kiss, she responded 'No.'"
As gathered, Weinstein and his accuser met Thursday at the red carpet premiere of The Rockette's "New York Spring Spectacular" that he co-produced at Radio City. The unnamed police source said: "They did not know each other. She didn't know him and he didn't know her; there is no indication she knew who he was. He initiated the contact. He saw her and spoke to her. She didn't know who he was until he approached her." He gave her his card at Radio City and they exchanged email on Friday to set up an afternoon meeting. When she got to Weinstein's office, his secretary was there but soon left them alone.
As soon as she left Weinstein's office, the complainant called a friend and disclosed what happened. The friend picked her up and took her to the 9th Precinct station house in the East Village, where the officers there drove her to the 1st Precinct station in Tribeca to report the incident. Quoting another unnamed police source, the New York Daily News wrote: "She really was very upset. She reported it right away."
On Saturday, NYPD Special Victims Squad detectives interviewed Weinstein after he voluntarily met them at the 1st Precinct station house. During the interview, he asked to speak to his lawyer and was allowed to leave. The matter is now in the hands of investigators with the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., who will determine whether charges will be filed.