Harvey Weinstein is a "seasoned" sexual predator and rapist who abused his power as a movie-producing titan to prey on vulnerable aspiring actresses, prosecutors said Wednesday during opening arguments in his trial.
Weinstein, wearing a dark suit, sat shaking his head and scribbling notes for his lawyers as New York Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast painted a picture of a 300-pound (140 kilogram) bully who violently raped, humiliated and manipulated several women, leaving them traumatised for years.
"It will be clear throughout this trial that the defendant knew he was preying on the naive and the defenceless," Hast told the court, saying many of his victims had come from broken homes.
"They didn't know they were being lured in on false pretenses. They thought they had got their big break. He was the old lady in the gingerbread house luring the kids."
Hast said Weinstein raped "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra" in the winter of 1993-94 after a pursuit which included him introducing her to the drug valium.
"He left her emotionally and physically destroyed and passed out on the floor," the prosecutor told a packed courtroom with more than 100 journalists in attendance.
The attorney said Weinstein left former production assistant Mimi Haleyi lying "motionless like a dead fish" after forcibly assaulting her in his New York apartment in July 2006.
And she accused Weinstein of treating actress Jessica Mann, who says Weinstein raped her a New York hotel room in March 2013, like a "rag doll."
Weinstein's defence team is expected to detail "loving" emails between the once-mighty movie producer and his accusers.
Weinstein, 67, faces life in prison if convicted of predatory sexual assault charges related to Haleyi and Mann in the New York proceedings seen as key to the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein's attorneys will try to convince the court that his two accusers engaged in consensual relationships with the defendant and only later claimed the incidents were forced.
Lawyer Damon Cheronis said Tuesday the defense had "dozens" of emails sent by the women to Weinstein which undermine claims of non-consensual sex, according to journalists in the courtroom.
Justice James Burke ruled that the defense team could cite these emails in its opening arguments, dealing a blow to the prosecution which had objected to their inclusion.
As well as Haleyi and Mann, the prosecution will call four other accusers to the stand as it tries to convince the 12-member jury that Weinstein engaged in a pattern of predatory sexual behaviour.
High-profile women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represents two women involved in the trial, has said the accusers can expect a "brutal cross-examination."
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon is leading the prosecution, while Chicago lawyer Donna Rotunno, who has defended numerous men accused of sexual assault, leads the defense.
More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since claims against him ignited the #MeToo movement in October 2017.
But many of the alleged crimes fall outside the timeframe for bringing charges.
Seven men and five women make up the jury in the trial which is expected to run until March 6.
The defence was successful in keeping young white women -- viewed as sympathetic to the #MeToo movement -- off the jury, following an acrimonious two-week selection process.
Arriving at court, Weinstein walked unsteadily up a few steps but without the walking frame he has used for recent proceedings.
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