NEW YORK _ A woman whose allegation of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein led to criminal charges in Southern California took the stand in his criminal trial in New York City on Wednesday, accusing him of groping her while masturbating in a Los Angeles hotel room.
Lauren Young, a Pennsylvania native who was 22 at the time of the alleged 2013 attack, is the last of six women to testify against Weinstein in Manhattan, where the fallen Hollywood mogul faces five counts of sexual assault and life in prison if convicted.
Young, who had not told her story in public before, is one of two women whose allegations led Los Angeles County prosecutors to file nine charges of rape and sexual misconduct against Weinstein in early January.
In court Wednesday, Young said she had been living in Los Angeles for two years when she first met Weinstein in February 2013 in the restaurant of the Montage Beverly Hills hotel. Young said she put on her best dress for the occasion.
"I was excited to network and pitch my ideas," she said.
Young said a recent acquaintance, who was also present at the Montage that night, arranged the meeting with Weinstein to talk about Young's unfinished script.
After talking briefly at the restaurant over drinks, Weinstein told both women that he needed to go up to his room because he needed to prepare to accept an award with Quentin Tarantino later that day, Young said. The mogul asked if they could continue the conversation there.
Young said that once they entered Weinstein's hotel room, she unwittingly followed the producer into the bathroom, with the other woman trailing behind her.
As Young stepped into the bathroom, she said, she looked into a mirror and saw the other woman closing the door, leaving Young along with the producer. Weinstein entered the shower, turned it on and started undressing, she said.
"It was as quick as I've ever seen anyone undress," Young said.
As Young attempted to leave, she realized that the other woman was blocking the door from the outside, she said.
"That's when I realized this was set up, she put me in here," Young testified.
As Young approached the door, Weinstein moved closer to her and blocked her from leaving, she said.
"I just couldn't believe what was happening to me," she said. "I was really worried and scared that they were going to hurt me or something."
Young said Weinstein then backed her toward the sink, and she turned away because she didn't want to look at his naked body. Weinstein then began to undress her as Young said "No" repeatedly, she alleged.
Her voice cracked in court as she recalled how she told the producer that she wasn't interested and that she had a boyfriend.
Weinstein then forcefully grabbed and pinched her breast with one hand while masturbating with the other, Young said. She said Weinstein attempted to touch her vagina, but she blocked him with her hands.
Weinstein left the bathroom after ejaculating onto a towel, Young said. She fled shortly afterward, giving the other woman an "evil look" as she left.
Young said she was never sexually attracted to Weinstein and did not express any romantic interest in him. She did not have any other encounters with him after the alleged incident at the Montage, she said.
Authorities in Los Angeles and New York have not confirmed that Young is the same woman identified as "Jane Doe No. 2" in Southern California filings, but Young's description of the assault was the same as the alleged attack laid out in court papers made public in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has also confirmed that one of the accusers in their case would be testifying as a prior bad acts witness in the New York case.
In Los Angeles County, the accusations made by Young and an Italian model led prosecutors to charge Weinstein with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint on the eve of his New York trial. He faces up to 28 years in state prison if convicted of all counts in California.
Some have accused Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey of timing the filing of the charges for maximum political gain as she faces a tough reelection bid against former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and former public defender Rachel Rossi.
Legal experts have also warned that by first telling her story in New York, Young will be much more susceptible to cross-examination in Los Angeles, where Weinstein's defense team will have months, if not years, to search for ways to undermine her story.
Weinstein's attorneys have denied the mogul did anything wrong and claimed each encounter described by witnesses in the New York case was consensual. Cross-examination began late Wednesday.
