Victims of sexual crimes and #MeToo harassment have, on multiple fronts, seen setbacks in the US in recent months.
The movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is now looking at a third trial on sexual assault charges after previous cases delivered mixed results for his victims. A high-profile case of federal racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking against the rapper Sean Combs returned a verdict only on lesser charges.
At the same time, some men accused of sexual misconduct or harassment have made their way back toward the spotlight – Donald Trump is in the White House, comedian Louis CK is headlining a national tour, and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is running for New York City mayor.
For Kaja Sokola, Weinstein’s youngest sexual assault accuser, it is a tough moment to speak out as a victim.
“I believe they are a setback for #MeToo, and I believe that it is very important right now for people to speak out,” she told the Guardian. “For people that are being abused, the most important message I can send is that you don’t have to go to court to get justice – but you need to talk to other people.”
Sokola knows about disappointment in the face of US justice. She says Weinstein raped her twice, in 2002 when she was 16, and in 2006 when she was 19. At trial in June, Sokola, now 39, testified about the alleged 2006 rape. Sokola testified that she had gone with her older sister to a meeting with Weinstein when he took her to hotel and raped her.
The jury found that the charge relating to Sokola’s claim had not met the burden of proof required for conviction. But the jury found Weinstein guilty of raping accuser Miriam Haley and were hung on a charge relating to accuser Jessica Mann – the charge that may now be retried.
After Weinstein was found not guilty on the Sokola charge in June, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg apologized to Sokola for the verdict and thanked her for her bravery.
“Without the courage of survivors like you, prosecutors like us cannot pursue accountability and justice,” he said. He added that the case was “about an immense power imbalance”.
Sokola has had time to consider the events of that time. Her sister had turned over to the defense personal writings from a spell in rehab when Sokola was treated for alcoholism and bulimia that did not mention the alleged Weinstein rape among a list of men that had abused her. The sisters are not on speaking terms. “No, and I will not [speak to her],” she said.
“I was terrified that Harvey’s lawyers could crush me, so that’s why I didn’t write about it.” A former friend had also testified that Sokola and Weinstein had been together earlier, throwing off the timeline of her account.
“The trial, from what I understand, was more about proving the point that people who thought they were untouchable are not untouchable,” Sokola said. “I’m pleased that I came forward for people to hear my story, and prosecutors decided that it was a case. The jurors are a whole different story.”
She said she identifies with Cassie Ventura, who testified at length in the Sean Combs case. Sokola too had been in a long, abusive relationship. In Sokola’s case, that became a custody battle with her husband of seven years that a US court found had subjected her to “severe, unrelenting psychological and physical abuse”.
“I really connected with Cassie’s story, because I think people don’t really understand right now how difficult it is to step out of a relationship that’s abusive,” she said. “That’s why I have so much empathy for Cassie. I met Harvey when I was 16; she met Sean when she was 19. We were just kids.”
The picture Sokola paints of young women like her coming to the US at the time is in keeping with stories of that era in the 2000s. The fashion industry wanted to cast eastern European and Brazilian models, and model agencies readily delivered.
“I was definitely the type for that. But I think sending a 16-year-old to cities like this is inappropriate.”
What she found was not necessarily what she anticipated. Models would be encouraged to go nightclubs by promoters who were often also models. Two New York nightclubs of the time, Seraphina and Butter, were mentioned at trial.
“Everyone knew about what was going on. It was not a secret. The first time I went out for dinner, at Seraphina, I was like, ‘Oh my God, someone is paying for my dinner. They’re so generous. How lucky!’ It was only later that I understood the trade and I changed my perspective.”
“The [modelling] agencies are like pimps for rich people,” Sokola now considers.
Weinstein, who denies the allegations against him, is currently in jail on Rikers Island in New York, and faces sentencing on 30 September on the Miriam Haley conviction, which could add 10 years to the 16-year sentence he received from a separate sexual assault conviction in California. But the New York sentencing will only happen if there is no retrial on the Jessica Mann rape charge.
Weinstein’s defense team told the Guardian their client is not willing to plead guilty to raping Mann to avoid a fourth trial.
“At some point this becomes a little too much,” said Weinstein crisis PR Juda Engelmayer. “The prosecution had a hard time making their case last time, and they’ll have a hard time the next time around. Harvey is more than ready for his next day in court.”
But Sokola’s part is done – she can’t be called again to tell her story in court. And she has come to terms with that.
“He’s probably going to die in jail. I’m not 16 any more. I’m 39, and I can stand my own ground. I think I’m good with whatever it is right now. It was like the closing of a chapter.”
