The unexpected sequel is underway: Harvey Weinstein stands trial again for alleged sexual misconduct against three women – former production assistant Mimi Haley, actress Jessica Mann, and a previously unidentified witness – in New York City. This retrial comes one year after his initial convictions were overturned on the same charges. However, this time around, a third woman is testifying, Kaja Sokola, a Polish ex-runway model who transitioned into psychotherapy and claims Weinstein assaulted her in a Tribeca hotel room back in 2006.
In a court hearing last month, Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s main defense attorney, contended that his client had extended relationships with Haley, Mann, and Sokola. He implied that each of these women consensually engaged in flirtatious activities as they attempted to jump the queue for stardom.
Or:
During last month’s court hearing, Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s primary defense lawyer, argued that his client had been involved in prolonged relationships with Haley, Mann, and Sokola. He suggested that these women willingly flirted as they sought to gain quicker access to fame.
One key factor that led to Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction being overturned on appeal was the use of Molineux witnesses by the prosecution during the initial trial. These were three women who testified about past misconduct by Weinstein, all alleging assault, but none of these cases had resulted in criminal charges. This left room for doubt as the defense could argue that there wasn’t a consistent pattern of abuse. In an attempt to address this issue, Manhattan’s District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, aimed to find at least one more woman who was connected to charges to strengthen the case in the retrial.
As a keen follower, I believe prosecutors anticipated that the press might grow weary from retelling Haley and Mann’s stories twice over. This trial round hasn’t seen courtroom spectators packed tightly like before, so introducing a new face could generate more media attention, undoubtedly.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office must have felt frustrated when Harvey Weinstein’s sex-crimes conviction was overturned, especially since he could have started serving his 16-year sentence for rape in Los Angeles while awaiting the outcome of his appeal there. However, with Bragg running for re-election, taking down Weinstein could help erase recent memories of Daniel Penny’s acquittal as a subway vigilante and Donald Trump escaping charges due to hush money. In fact, District Attorney Bragg himself was present during Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey’s presentation of the revised case against Weinstein.
Harvey Weinstein, battling leukemia and struggling with both his health and finances, finds himself in a precarious position as New York City Health + Hospitals debate whether he should return to Rikers Island jail instead of Bellevue Hospital’s prison ward. With each breath, it seems Weinstein is living on borrowed time, the last of his nine lives perhaps. However, his lawyers argue that the new case against him is far from being a slam dunk, pointing out inconsistencies in Sokola’s testimony. Moreover, while Weinstein has been formally indicted for an alleged 2006 assault on Sokola, prosecutors appear to be using, as they did previously, shocking accounts of another assault, for which he is not being charged, to bolster their case.
All of which is to say, he could beat this rap. Again.
***
In the spring of 2006, Weinstein had a quick lunch at the restaurant of Tribeca Grand Hotel with Sokola, who was almost 20, and her sister, a cardiologist, who was visiting. Prosecutors claim that Sokola wanted to impress her sister by showing off that she knew Weinstein, as she was eager to demonstrate her progress in her acting career.
According to the prosecution’s account, Weinstein unexpectedly excused himself to Sokola. However, there was a script in his hotel room that he felt compelled to swiftly share with her.
Here, according to Sokola’s testimony, Weinstein allegedly took off her boots and stockings, compelled her onto his bed, and performed oral sex against her will, disregarding her pleas to stop and expressed reluctance.
(Weinstein denies he ever had anything but consensual sex with any of these women.)
Back in September, a grand jury indicted Harvey Weinstein for a first-degree criminal sexual act, the same charge he was convicted of in 2020 regarding Miriam Haley. However, unlike the specific date in that case, this incident is said to have occurred sometime within the span of April 29th to May 6th, 2006.
2006, the year Weinstein is currently facing charges, was a time when Sokola, as the prosecutor notes, was experiencing difficulties. She was heavily into alcohol at the time. The Assistant District Attorney’s closing statement on the first day described her as a woman with numerous personal struggles that persistently lingered. Although acknowledging that not all of Kaja’s problems can be attributed to Weinstein, A.D.A. Lucey argued that Sokola’s initial alleged encounter with Weinstein in 2002, when she was just 16 and an aspiring model-actress, had profound and lasting effects on her, which she is still grappling with today.
In the account provided by prosecutors, it is claimed that Sokola had previously met Weinstein at a dinner in the year under discussion, specifically at the restaurant Butter, which was known for inviting models to socialize with wealthy older individuals. However, Weinstein’s legal team disputes this timeline, suggesting their first encounter occurred in 2005 instead, and that Sokola should be considered an adult during this meeting.
Despite her name not being disclosed before this trial, Sokola had spoken openly about her past experiences with Weinstein years ago. In a 2018 lawsuit where she was referred to as “Jane Doe,” she alleged that Weinstein compelled her to perform an inappropriate act on him in 2002, making her one of the youngest victims he is accused of exploiting. This marked the start of what she described as a prolonged period (approximately a decade) of sexual and emotional mistreatment.
At the close of 2019, Sokola withdrew from the initial class-action lawsuit, expressing concerns such as “inadequate compensation for the affected parties.” In a separate civil lawsuit filed in 2019, publicly associated with her name, Sokola sued Disney (who owned Miramax in 2002), Miramax itself, Harvey Weinstein, and Bob Weinstein, Harvey’s co-CEO brother. This dispute was discreetly resolved for $3 million during the summer of 2023, with publicly traded Disney likely feeling the need to resolve the matter due to external pressure. Previously, Sokola had received an additional half a million dollars from a settlement fund resulting from The Weinstein Company’s bankruptcy proceedings. This money was distributed to other complainant women, including those involved in the class action she abandoned, using the Tribeca Grand incident as a basis for payment (the specifics of which were not yet disclosed publicly).
Despite the serious accusation of a 2002 sexual assault involving a minor, prosecutors have chosen not to bring charges against Weinstein in this ongoing trial. This could be because of discrepancies related to the timeframe, an aspect that the defense has seized upon. Notably, records indicate that Weinstein didn’t buy his Crosby Street apartment (where the alleged incident happened) until May 2005, during a divorce, while in 2002, his main residence was a duplex on Central Park West he shared with his then-wife, Eve.
A former assistant of photographer Marco Glaviano, Helga Rose Samuelsen, testified in an affidavit (which made headlines in 2022) about an incident in 2005 at Glaviano’s combined office-apartment located in New York City’s CitySpire building. According to her statement, she and Kaja Sokola were residing there at that time. Samuelsen recalled looking up from her computer and being surprised to see Sokola bringing Harvey Weinstein into the apartment, and then specifically into Sokola’s room. Samuelsen believes they had just recently met. However, in a recent statement, Sokola denied any encounter with Weinstein that year, saying, “That never occurred.
Furthermore, the prosecution failed to provide any email or phone communication as evidence that these two individuals were in contact prior to 2005. Weinstein insists that Sokola was an acquaintance for no more than seven years at most.
Previously, neither of Sokola’s civil lawsuits from before had brought up the specific crime that Weinstein is currently being accused of – the alleged 2006 sexual assault at the Tribeca Grand. In her 2018 class action, Sokola stated that Weinstein had invited her to his hotel room after lunch but she declined, citing the need to stay with her sister. However, in 2025, this story takes a different turn, which will play a crucial role in the prosecution’s updated case. In contrast, Weinstein’s defense team is focusing on the inconsistencies within the accounts, a point they typically exploit in any trial.
***
In the upcoming trial, the defense plans to challenge Sokola’s trustworthiness by bringing up inconsistencies in her testimonies throughout the years and by referring to her battles with alcoholism and mental health issues. Despite these difficulties, which were acknowledged by Assistant D.A. Lucey in her opening remarks as causing Sokola to sometimes move forward followed by setbacks, she maintains that Sokola’s past should not impact the facts of the case at hand.
Currently, Sokola is grappling with a series of child custody disputes both in the United States and Poland. These issues have already influenced her participation in this trial. In 2022, Sokola’s husband, residing in Poland, filed a lawsuit in an American federal court seeking the return of their only child whom he alleges she took to New York City in January of that year. On September 26, 2024, a decision unfavorable to her in a divorce case initiated by Sokola in Poland granted temporary full custody of their child to her husband until their divorce is finalized. However, the recognition of this temporary custody order from Poland (where both the child and Sokola are citizens)—normally a swift process—has been delayed for months by the New York City Family Court. Michael S. Pascazi, the husband’s lawyer, suspects that the proceedings have intentionally been prolonged to allow Sokola to stay in the U.S.
On the day prior to the unveiling of the Weinstein indictment, the judge managing the case involving Sokola’s husband made a decision allowing their child to remain in the U.S. This ruling was based on accusations of physical and psychological abuse against Sokola (with limited consideration for her son) by her husband, as well as his criminal record in France and other locations.
However, neither side, during their arguments, brought up that Sokola expressed thoughts of suicide just after she testified before the grand jury in August 2024. These events, coupled with her alcohol use, led to the temporary loss of custody of her child to a foster caregiver for several months.
Sokola has requested asylum in the U.S., citing herself and the child as victims of violent incidents. The status of this request is currently under review.
During the initial phase of the Weinstein trial, lawyers stated that Sokola was eligible for a U Visa. A U Visa is designed to aid victims of specific crimes who have endured psychological or physical trauma and can assist law enforcement or government officials in investigating or prosecuting criminal acts. As testified last week, Sokola acknowledged that if she reported a crime and cooperated with prosecutors, they could submit a form supporting her application for a U Visa to stay in the United States. She admitted that if her asylum request is denied, her eligibility for a U Visa would hinge on the support of the District Attorney’s office. Neither the Manhattan District Attorney’s office nor Sokola’s attorney Lindsay Goldbrum at Goddard Law have commented on whether the U Visa might impact this case.
***
Following her 2019 civil lawsuit, where she was the lone plaintiff, Sokola later referred to herself as a prominent figure in the Me Too movement on one of her professional platforms. Her first interview as an alleged victim of Weinstein took place in 2020 with the Polish press. Two years later, her story was featured in a 2022 Rolling Stone profile and subsequently circulated across major media outlets. In that same year, she made appearances on both the New York and Los Angeles red carpets for the premiere of the Weinstein-scandal movie She Said.
On a now-defunct Polish language blog (which also promoted her therapy services), she openly discussed her struggles and addictions. Her posts indicate a woman who was frustrated about not attaining significant accomplishments – a term she frequently employed as “spectacular success.
Shannon Lucey depicts Sokola as a result of her upbringing: Sokola’s mother and sister enroll her, at age 14, in a beauty pageant she wins, basking in the pride of having a “pageant princess” and successful model within their family. Subsequently, Harvey Weinstein arrives, presenting himself with his seemingly genuine So you want to be in movies? pitch.
As per Sokola’s blog post, Modeling was merely a temporary phase for her. Her true ambition, she expressed, was to write and perform: “A hundred years ago when I departed for America, I yearned for everything America had to offer – a fast-paced career, extraordinary achievements, and the joy that comes with being in the spotlight,” she penned down.
On the first day of trial, the prosecutor stated that Harvey Weinstein was aware of how compelling the allure of Hollywood could be, as he deliberately averted his gaze from the jury throughout the proceedings.
In 2006, Sokola opted against attending university to focus on her acting career. Her professor mother reportedly called it the “stupidest decision” she had ever made and gave her the cold shoulder. However, a family source claims this isn’t accurate. Sokola shares that Weinstein, with his encouragement about acting, served as a supportive figure in her life who saw potential in her and truly believed in her abilities.
As Sokola turned 20, her elder sister Ewa happened to visit town. During their lunch with Weinstein, Sokola wished that Ewa wouldn’t dismiss her as a jest, as she expressed. However, being the proficient cardiologist that Ewa was, she suggested to Weinstein that he might benefit from losing some weight for health reasons. Additionally, she mused out loud about why European actresses appeared to be mistreated in American movies.
Sokola was optimistic that Ewa would pass on to their mother the information that, given such a strong ally in business, Sokola might succeed. However, Sokola claims they never informed any family members about the alleged attack that occurred shortly afterwards in the upper hotel room.
After the celebration of my birthday, Weinstein sent over some vintage movies on DVD as part of my learning journey, with a heartfelt card that had an incorrect spelling of my name – he wrote it as “Sokola” instead of “Sokol.” I didn’t discard it; it was kept within the family and later presented in court. In the following month, Weinstein had a senior VP at his company write me a recommendation for the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. At that time, I was hesitant to admit under oath that it was indeed Weinstein who provided this recommendation. Now, I’m stating that the tuition fee of $3,000 during that period was beyond my financial reach.
In November 2011, the 25-year-old Sokola sent an email to Barbara Schneeweiss, who was an assistant to Weinstein and a creative executive at the Weinstein Company. In broken English, Sokola expressed her desire to meet with an agent. Schneeweiss then forwarded this request to Weinstein, who responded in a less than enthusiastic manner, suggesting a polite way for Sokola to withdraw her request.
As I, a supporter speaking here, put it, “She hasn’t reached greater heights in her profession, and she’s pointing fingers at him,” stated Weinstein’s lawyer Aidala during his initial statements.
I was never assisted by him in getting my foot in the door of the acting industry. Over a long period, I felt manipulated by Mr. Weinstein, causing me to doubt my own acting capabilities.”)
According to Sokola’s testimony, she’s had a love for acting since her childhood; however, it appears there was no actual pursuit of acting in Poland as suggested by a family source. Although she did receive some certificates for dramatic poetry recitations, her applications to major drama schools were turned down flat. Instead, it seems that becoming “famous” was a significant concern for her. In the ongoing courtroom battle, the contents of her diaries could potentially be presented as evidence. A family source hints that these diaries might contain discussions about Jeffrey Epstein’s island, but little incriminating about Weinstein.
In court, Sokola was questioned about a part of her 2015 diaries detailing challenging situations and distresses she faced with several people. She had documented that Harvey Weinstein’s “trauma” for her was “he made me a promise but didn’t follow through.” However, the hardships she described for two other men were, respectively, “rape and physically violent” in one instance, and in another, “compelled sexual acts.
In 2022, Sokola recounted in Rolling Stone that Weinstein had mentioned he had a role for her in a significant film with a well-known actress and a massive production. However, during the trial, she appeared visibly disappointed recalling this opportunity which came around spring of 2006 as an extra on The Nanny Diaries: “It was somewhat bittersweet…an opportunity, I suppose, to observe how a big movie set functions. [However], it wasn’t a lead role.” Unfortunately, the scene was eventually removed from the final film.
2011 finds an email to Weinstein initiating with, “I recall you mentioning Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures. Is it possible for me to reach out to her at this moment?” Sokola discusses a “thriller drama about human sex trafficking” she intends to produce. She shares her “fractured dreams” and expresses that she’s found new strength following her struggles, which in court she explains as referencing her mental health issues. (A teal-colored enamel ribbon pin, consistently worn on Sokola’s collar, symbolizes her solidarity with individuals grappling with mental illness.)
She stated from the witness stand that she desired authenticity from Mr. Harvey Weinstein, and if he expressed her potential, her gift, or her talents, she expected him to back it up by connecting her with casting directors – nothing less. Angrily, she exclaimed, ‘I sought truthfulness from Harvey Weinstein, but never received it, and it was devastating…He shattered my aspirations, self-worth, faith in myself, and trust.’
***
Following Sokola’s testimony before the grand jury during the summer of 2024, the District Attorney’s case teetered on the brink of collapse.
In the days leading up to her court appearance, police were called twice to Sokola’s downtown apartment, as suggested in related court documents. It appears that Sokola was under the influence of alcohol during these occasions, which led to her being taken to a mental health facility and temporarily losing custody of her child to foster care. This decision was made by the New York City Family Court, based on a court order.
It’s worth noting that Sokola has a substantial past of psychiatric treatments, with admissions in Manhattan and Poland, as evidenced by records accompanying the divorce court documents filed by her former spouse.
The medical records, which span from February 2007, were provided by Sokola’s doctor-sister, Ewa. In a written response, Sokola’s lawyers challenge Ewa for sharing Sokola’s medical records without consent. However, they do not question the authenticity of these records. Instead, they argue that since these records precede the marriage, they are not relevant to the current case.
These records also detail an episode involving Sokola, who was 20 at the time and quarreling with a friend, while in an extremely intoxicated state. This incident occurred in her East Village apartment building. Her actions resulted in her throwing a garbage bag out of the window, leading to an emergency call to the police. Upon arrival at Cabrini Medical Center’s psychiatric-emergency service (to which she was transported by ambulance for examination), Sokola was diagnosed with symptoms indicative of bipolar personality traits.
In the subsequent years, various authoritative documents outlined admissions, both voluntary and involuntary, to psychiatric facilities and an addiction center. These reports mentioned eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, which started at age 14, self-inflicted cuts she claims were not suicide attempts, a borderline personality disorder, problematic alcohol use with signs of addiction, and a person who has gone through multiple private detoxifications.
2011 saw a questionnaire filled out by Sokola’s retired professor mother in Poland, asking for drug-treatment coverage from the government. This form mentioned a suspected suicide attempt by Sokola, preceded by farewell emails and discussions about her own funeral. Sokola was studying to become a psychologist but had barely left home for months, according to her mother, who attributed this to the effects of Sokola’s modeling years, including the easy availability of alcohol and nightlife in many global cities.
Following her whirlwind 2015 wedding to a businessman, whom she had only recently met after connecting on Facebook, she decided to abstain from alcohol (go sober). Despite their union’s eventual catastrophic collapse in 2022, this change in lifestyle remained consistent.
whether he sexually assaulted Ms. Sokola in 2006.
In one of her statements made to both the New York Federal Court and Poland’s Family Court, Sokola’s sister Ewa, who is also her cardiologist, claimed that she was invited to stay with Sokola in August 2024 to assist her with sobriety (they were both due to testify before a grand jury). According to Ewa’s declaration, she brought the withdrawal medication baclofen and IV-drip equipment along with her luggage. In another statement, Ewa mentioned that she was in the apartment on August 27, 2024, when she saw her intoxicated sister being handcuffed by police officers for her own safety after threatening to jump from a high balcony of a high-rise building. Ewa also shared this incident in a cellphone video, which was shown to the Hollywood Reporter, featuring her sister Kaja being arrested. On August 28, a New York City Family Court bench order mentioned that police and emergency personnel transported Sokola to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
The ruling on the bench mandated the placement of Sokola’s five-year-old in foster care, labeling the child “neglected.” It also verified Sokola’s recent hospitalization for psychiatric treatment and acknowledged instances involving the police due to Sokola drinking alcohol in front of the child and expressing suicidal thoughts.
In legal documents contesting the reopening of the federal case initiated by Sokola’s former spouse, her lawyers argued that Sokola’s confessed “return to alcohol misuse…and subsequent temporary mental health issues” were not relevant to the debate over whether it would be more beneficial for her child to return to Poland and live with his father. These potentially serious health problems are not explicitly acknowledged by Sokola in her response, although she does admit to attending regular outpatient recovery programs and making positive progress, and continues to have visitation rights with her child.
Over the Thanksgiving season, a unique agreement involving ACS resulted in the child being sent back to Sokola.
Gosh, there are times when I truly question my parenting skills,” I shared on Facebook during the Christmas season of ’24.
***
The Child Victims Act, passed in August 2019 by New York, granted victims of abuse an extra year to report incidents that occurred in 2002 or earlier. However, up until now, the State has not filed charges against Weinstein for any alleged offenses under this act.
In the case Weinstein is currently facing, the incident involving Sokola was never mentioned in either of her previous civil lawsuits. The account originates from an initial lawsuit and a claim that first surfaced in private documents for the bankruptcy settlement in 2021. Lindsay Goldbrum, Sokola’s attorney, acknowledges that she had decided not to disclose this difficult part of her experience publicly before.
Twice, she held remote meetings with the D.A.’s office, following the initiation of Weinstein’s first trial. However, it was not a police detective who took notes; instead, someone else did. No police investigation was launched at that time. Neither the Manhattan District Attorney nor Lindsay Goldbrum, Sokola’s attorney, made any comments on the matter.
Sokola clarifies the nature of those meetings when questioned, stating that she never imagined she’d end up testifying in a court case against Harvey Weinstein. However, circumstances have led us to this point.
Read More
- DEEP PREDICTION. DEEP cryptocurrency
- CRK Boss Rush guide – Best cookies for each stage of the event
- Summoners Kingdom: Goddess tier list and a reroll guide
- Ludus promo codes (April 2025)
- CXT PREDICTION. CXT cryptocurrency
- Maiden Academy tier list
- Castle Duels tier list – Best Legendary and Epic cards
- Mini Heroes Magic Throne tier list
- Best Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered sex mods for 2025
- Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance tier list – Every hero and tower ranked
2025-05-14 16:56