MediaPunch/ShutterstockHarvey Weinstein will not be taking the stand.
On Tuesday, amid Weinstein's ongoing rape trial in New York City, the disgraced Hollywood producer's defense team rested its case, with Weinstein deciding not to testify and share his side of the story with the jury, which consists of seven men and five women. In doing so, the prosecution will not have the opportunity to ask him questions.
"Weinstein may be able to avoid testifying in the criminal trial, but he will not be afforded that right in his civil trials," attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who represents several of the alleged victims, said in a statement. "I relish the day when I get to cross-examine him and ask him to answer for the wrongs he has committed against so many women."
Weinstein has been charged with five counts, two of rape, one of forcible sex and two of predatory sexual assault. In 2018, he plead not guilty and has continuously denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
The prosecution previously rested their case on February 6 after the court heard from six women. During that time, while taking the stand, accuser Jessica Mann claimed that Weinstein has no testicles, saying she witnessed his "deformed and intersex" genitals when he allegedly raped her in her hotel room in 2013.
Despite the assault, she said she "made the decision to be in a relationship with him," believing she was entering "a real relationship with him—and it was extremely degrading from that point on."
When asked why she had not ended their relationship, Mann said she believed Weinstein was going to "hurt my father."
The defense, for their part, have tried discredit these women, claiming that they were willing participants in the sexual acts.
Though the NYC trial is set to conclude soon, Weinstein also faces four sexual assault charges in Los Angeles to which he has pled not guilty.