Paz de la Huerta-Harvey Weinstein Rape Case Stalled for Lack of Rape

Harvey Weinstein is a gross and insufferable man who had some twisted need to force women to watch him shower and masturbate and try on tiny kimonos. That’s all that’s been proven to date. The actual criminal complaints of sexual assault were never adjudicated. All seem to involve Weinstein alone with an actress with whom he claims to have had consensual sex, not to mention twenty years old and impossible to charge with any sincerity, even if the statute of limitations doesn’t apply.

The D.A.’s of New York and Los Angeles have indicated they are reviewing possible criminal sex crimes charges against Weinstein, partly for political optics, and partly because no women ever came forward before after thirty years of the pig running roughshod through the ladies. Paz de la Huerta was thought to have the most legitimate case for criminal charges against Weinstein. She accused him of rape in 2010 on two occasions, and took her case to the police. There was much rejoicing and congratulatory cheers for her bravery.

A cursory examination of de la Huerta’s tale of Weinstein sex led to some obvious questions. De la Huerta claims that in November 2010, Weinstein showed up at her apartment with some lame reason to be there, and forcibly lifted her skirt and penetrated her. And the following month, when she asked to meet him in the lobby of her apartment building to tell him to leave her alone, he got her back up to her apartment and once again forced her to have sex. The practical process of a late 50’s corpulent movie executive physically forcing such circumstances seemed hard to visualize.

Police are now hedging toward dropping the case. The lack of consistent witness testimony from seven years ago is one issue. But more relevant, they’re thinking de la Huerta’s definition of “forcible” is more consistent with “coercive”. De la Huerta visited socially with Weinstein on multiple occasions between the two alleged attacks. (The photo above is from an event in between the two incidences.) Also, law enforcement obtained a copy of a letter written by de la Huerta’s shrink regarding the rape matter:

“I recall you reporting to me a sexual encounter with Harvey Weinstein involving intercourse in your apartment in 2010 that resulted in you feeling victimized. I recall you telling me that it felt coercive to you and that you didn’t want to have sex with him, but felt you had to as he was a man of power and rank and you couldn’t say no to his sexual advances.”

That’s certainly crummy behavior. But it’s not exactly as initially laid out, with the hulking beasts slinging you over his shoulder, busting in your door, and pinning you to the ground while she screamed for help. More consistent with, this fat schmuck can make or break my career so I’ll let him do me. Now I feel disgusting.

It’s not as if Weinstein’s attorneys won’t tear that shit up in court. No D.A. wants to be the first into Weinstein and lose. The Cosby trial came up mistrial and there’s egg on everybody’s face. Imagine a plain loss and the precedent that sets for future similar cases. Lena Dunham would be torturing your legal reputation on Twitter.

The problem with charging crimes in a business where everybody has ulterior motives is that it’s hard to find a case-worthy victim. Weinstein is a shitty person, not a dumb person. He thought about these things in who he called up to his hotel room and visited at their apartments. He wasn’t roaming the streets grabbing up strangers, he was cumming in the potted plants of women he knew he could own.

This isn’t victim blaming, this is criminal trial reality. The truth is hard. Consider vigilante justice. He can’t possibly run that fast.

_{Photo credit: Getty Images}