Harvey Weinstein Attacked Polish Model Kaja Sokola, Prosecutors Say

For 30 years, Harvey Weinstein “decided who was in and who was out” in movies and TV — deploying this immense influence to prey on women, prosecutors said at his Manhattan rape retrial on April 23. “The script was Harvey Weinstein’s most powerful tool — the movie script, the production, the role,” prosecutor Shannon Lucey continued in her opening. “He used those dream opportunities as a weapon.”

Weinstein faces three counts in his retrial: two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree. He is accused by three women: Miriam “Mimi” Haley, Jessica Mann, and a third woman, identified in criminal supreme court for the first time as Kaja Sokola. Haley and Mann took the stand at his first trial five years ago, where he was convicted of sexually assaulting them in a proceeding that marked a watershed moment for the Me Too movement. Sokola has alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted her at a downtown Manhattan hotel on one occasion in the spring of 2006. Prosecutors allege that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her.

The former movie producer was previously sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020. On April 25, 2024, New York’s highest court threw out his conviction following his appeal. The court determined that Weinstein’s trial was unfair because of the testimonies from women whom he was not charged with assaulting. Weinstein’s appearance in court remained largely unchanged from prior proceedings: He was seated in a wheelchair and sported a dark-blue suit. Tarale Wulff and Dawn Dunning, who testified against him at his first trial over alleged attacks he was not charged for, were seated in the back row of court.

Sokola has previously said in interviews and civil proceedings that Weinstein attacked her as a minor, and Lucey’s opening set forth for the first time that he assaulted her again as an adult. Sokola first met Weinstein in 2002 when she was 16 and traveling alone to New York from Poland for a modeling contract. “Everything about those years were mixed emotions. She was pressured to do well in school, between all the travel, she was pressured to do well in these modeling jobs — because that’s what her job demanded of her,” Lucey said. “It gave her mom and her sister bragging rights.” Her parents were accomplished in Poland and concerned with their image, which added to Sokola’s vulnerability, Lucey said.

A few days after arriving in New York, a club promoter invited Sokola to a hip downtown restaurant. “Promoters tell pretty girls like models to come and be photographed around rich older people,” Lucey said. The underage model first met Weinstein at this venue, where he allegedly asked her if she was interested in acting. She was.

A few days later, she agreed to meet Weinstein at a restaurant to talk about her career, but instead, they arrived at what appeared to be an apartment building. Inside, Weinstein allegedly dropped his pants and assaulted her by touching her genitals. Prosecutors claim Weinstein told her he made Gwyneth Paltrow and Penelope Cruz’s careers. (In 2017, Paltrow accused Weinstein of sexual harassment.) “You need to work on your stubbornness,” he allegedly said.

About two years later, Sokola allegedly heard from Weinstein to meet up again. At first, things were “normal” in the car, until Weinstein got “that look.” He allegedly tried to grab her, but Sokola pushed his hand away, said “‘That’s not what we’re doing,’ and left the car,” Lucey said.

Over the next few years, as Sokola’s profile as a model grew,  she kept in contact with Weinstein periodically, resulting in a gig as an extra on the Nanny Diaries, starring Scarlett Johansson and Alicia Keys. “She fully recognized this was not a typical extra experience. Sokola’s first on-camera opportunity felt special and important because of what her demanding family thought of the acting dream.” Lucey said. “In 2006, Sokola’s sister, a cardiologist, came to visit. Sokola, her sister, and Weinstein had lunch at a hotel. She was excited to show off that she knew a big Hollywood producer.”

Weinstein invited Sokola upstairs, claiming he had scripts for her to see. Arriving to an empty room, she began to panic when his demeanor shifted once again and he told her to take off her clothes and tights. “For Kaja, it was instant shame, self-judgement,” Lucey told jurors. “How am I here again?” Sokola froze and Weinstein pressed her against the bed. He then forcibly performed oral sex on her. “While she was crying and saying ‘Please don’t do this,’ he was also masturbating with his other hand.” After the attack, Lucey said, Weinstein quipped, “See, it wasn’t so bad.”

Weinstein’s defense told jurors that his behavior hasn’t always been exemplary — yes, he cheated on his wife, and no, he didn’t act like a work supervisor should — but that was not the same as rape. “These are not allegations that he met someone in an alleyway and threw them down and committed a crime,” lead defense attorney Arthur Aidala said. “These are all based on relationships, friendships.” He added, “There is a lot of real estate between immorality and illegality.” Aidala also said that these women were trying to use Weinstein to get ahead. “You’re going to hear: ‘They were flirtatious. They were friendly. They wanted him. They needed him,’” Aidala said. “He could change the trajectory of their lives.” The trial will continue with witness testimony and is expected to last four to six weeks.