Daily Mail - 27.08.2019

Page 27

Prized: Tiny Union Island gecko

replied: ‘Not really’.

Weinstein, 67, had been

accused of two counts of

predatory sexual assault, one

count of a criminal sexual act

in the first degree and one

count each of first degree

rape and third-degree rape.

They relate to raping an

unidentified woman in his

hotel room in 2013 and forc-

ing himself on Mimi Haleyi, a

production assistant, at his

apartment in 2006.

The new indictment only

mentions claims made by

Miss Haleyi and the unnamed

woman. But the prosecu-

tion’s voluntary disclosure

form states that an addi-

tional incident of Weinstein’s

alleged predatory sexual

behaviour occurred in winter

of 1993-1994 at Miss Sciorra’s

New York apartment.

Her lawyer Gloria Allred

said she spoke to police

because it was ‘in the inter-

ests of justice’ despite the

stress it was causing her.

Miss Sciorra, who appeared

in HBO series The Sopranos

from 2001-4, spoke to the

New Yorker magazine in 2017

in one of the articles that

brought Weinstein down.

She said that she first met

him in the early 1990s after

had sex with her. During the

hearing Assistant District

Attorney Joan Illuzzi said

there were ‘no surprises here’

about the new charges. She

wanted to consolidate them

with two existing counts of

the same crime and was ready

for the September 9 trial.

But Miss Rotunno asked

for the full 45 days to respond

and Judge Burke agreed.

The prosecution disclosure

form also has new details

about other women who will

be called to testify. One says

she was raped by him in Feb-

ruary 2013 at a hotel in Bev-

erly Hills, claims which match

up with those of an unnamed

Italian model and actress.

The 38-year-old has told

the Los Angeles Times that

Weinstein ‘bullied his way

into my hotel room’. She

claimed to have said no but

Weinstein ‘became ‘very

aggressive’ and dragged her

into the bathroom by her

hair and ‘forcibly raped me’.

The second claims that Wein-

stein forced him upon her in

spring 2004 at a hotel near

Park Avenue in Manhattan.

The third claims that he did

the same in spring 2005 in

Soho, New York.

Last week Weinstein’s law-

yers failed to get the case

moved out of New York City,

insisting it was the ‘least

likely place on Earth’ where

he could get a fair trial.

Weinstein was outed in US

articles in 2017 after which his

movie empire collapsed and

his wife Georgina Chapman

divorced him. Dozens of stars

have accused him of inappro-

priate behaviour or sexual

assault. Weinstein, who wore

a black suit and trainers, and

limped into the court, is free

on $1million bail.

‘Walked in like

he owned place’

A RARE reptile has been banned from

sale over fears that its dazzling appear-

ance is fuelling the smuggling trade –

because owners buy them to become

popular on social media.

The Union Island gecko – prized for its

jewel-like markings – is often seen on

websites such as Instagram, where

users post photographs for ‘likes’.

But it can only be found on its name-

sake island in the Caribbean and it is

thought there are just 9,960 left, as the

illegal pet trade causes numbers to con-

tinue to decline.

World leaders have now voted for the

species to be protected, so it cannot be

commercially traded.

A fully grown Union Island gecko meas-

ures just over an inch long and weighs

less than a pinch of salt.

Other species, such as the tokay and

tiger geckos, are also threatened with

extinction and have been given similar

protection. The tokay was once com-

mon in India, southern China and south-

east Asia, but the population has

declined by up to 50 per cent due to the

pet trade and habitat loss.

Sri Lanka’s hump-snout lizard was also

listed for protection.

Up to eight million reptiles are kept as

pets in the UK. China is also a popular

destination because the lizards are used

in traditional medicine.

Sumanth Bindumadhav, of the Humane

Society International, said: ‘Tiger gecko

species and the tokay are both

extremely popular in the pet trade

owing to their beautiful pattern.

‘Unregulated collection of specimens

from the wild is one of the major threats

to their population.’

By Amelia Clarke

From Daniel Bates

in New York

HARVEY Weinstein yesterday

denied two additional charges

which relate to a rape claim

against him by The Sopranos

actress Annabella Sciorra.

The disgraced film producer said ‘not

guilty’ after being accused of two alle-

gations of predatory sexual assault.

Miss Sciorra, 59 – who will now be able

to testify at the trial – alleges that Wein-

stein raped her in the winter of 1993 in

her New York apartment.

Her claims will let prosecutors argue that

Weinstein showed a pattern of ‘predatory

sexual assault’, the most serious of the

charges which could see him jailed for life.

Weinstein is now accused of seven

crimes, although the two new charges

could be merged with existing ones.

In a further twist, the trial was delayed

by four months after a last-minute

attempt by prosecutors to introduce Miss

Sciorra’s claims backfired. Judge James

Burke moved the case from September 9

to January 6 next year, a decision that

Weinstein’s lawyer Donna Rotunno said

showed the case was ‘weak’. In a bizarre

light moment at Manhattan’s Criminal

Court, Judge Burke asked the movie

mogul if he wanted to go on trial. He Fresh charges: Weinstein arriving at New York Supreme Court yesterday

Allegations:

Annabella

Sciorra

Weinstein to face claims

he raped Sopranos star

Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Pet ban for rare lizard after

web craze goes off the scales

appearing in films such as The

Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

One evening he offered to

drop her home and after going

inside she heard a knock at

her door, she told The New

Yorker. Weinstein walked in

‘like he owned the place’, she

said. Miss Sciorra said she

told him to leave but he

shoved her on to a bed and