Sex assault victim Miriam Haley is seeking damages from Weinstein for pain and suffering as a result of the attack
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein was sued on Friday by the former production assistant who the disgraced movie producer was convicted at trial of having sexually assaulted.
Miriam Haley, who has also used the name Mimi Haleyi, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for the pain and suffering she said Weinstein caused by assaulting her in July 2006, a time when she was seeking more work in the entertainment industry.
Lawyers for Weinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Haley, who lives in London, filed her lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Weinstein, 68, is appealing his Feb. 24 conviction and 23-year prison term for sexually assaulting Haley and for raping onetime aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
The conviction was in a New York state court in Manhattan. Weinstein still faces separate rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.
Haley had testified that while working on a Weinstein television production, she agreed to meet with him on July 10, 2006, in his apartment in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.
She said they were sitting on a sofa making small talk when Weinstein lunged at her, prompting her to jump up and say, "oh, no, no, no." Haley said he then backed her into a bedroom, held her down on a bed, and forced himself on her orally.
Weinstein "has completely failed to acknowledge his criminal misconduct" and "shown no sign of true remorse," Haley said in a statement provided by her lawyer Gloria Allred. "He should be held fully accountable."
Before his conviction, Weinstein had denied sexual abuse accusations by several dozen women. His case helped trigger the #MeToo movement against predatory sexual conduct.
A Delaware bankruptcy judge overseeing the liquidation of Weinstein's former film studio is expected to consider a liquidation plan that would provide about $17 million in compensation to Weinstein's accusers. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Howard Goller)
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