Manhattan DA's office defends decision to not prosecute Weinstein for allegedly groping model
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Manhattan DA’s Office doubled down Tuesday on its decision to not prosecute Harvey Weinstein for allegedly groping a model in his office in 2015 — and blamed the NYPD, in part, for not being able to make a case.
“If we could have prosecuted Harvey Weinstein for the conduct that occurred in 2015, we would have,” Chief Assistant DA Karen Friedman-Agnifilo said in a statement.
Friedman-Agnifilo’s explanation came in response to a bombshell New Yorker exposé published Tuesday that said Weinstein admitted on a secret NYPD recording that he fondled Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the two-minute recording, Gutierrez, then 22, accuses the disgraced movie mogul of groping her, saying, “Why yesterday you touched my breast?” as he tried to get her into a downtown Manhattan hotel room.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN ACCUSED OF RAPING 3 WOMAN, SEXUALLY HARASSING GWYNETH PALTROW, ANGELINA JOLIE
The alleged assault occurred March 27, 2015, at his nearby office.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Weinstein answers, “Oh, please. I’m sorry. Just come on in. I’m used to that.”
“You’re used to that?” Gutierrez asks, sounding shocked.
“Yes, come in,” Weinstein replies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Weinstein is also heard promising that “I won’t do it again” and that “I will never do another thing to you.”
Friedman-Agnifilo said the recorded meeting between Gutierrez and Weinstein, as well as a controlled call between the two the night before, were made “without our knowledge or input.”