Judge refuses to toss lawsuit accusing Harvey Weinstein of sex trafficking

A Manhattan federal judge has OK’d a lawsuit that accuses Harvey Weinstein of being a sex trafficker.

The judge gave the thumbs-up Tuesday to the suit, which was filed by aspiring British actress Kadian Noble, claiming that the “Shakespeare In Love” producer violated federal laws against sex trafficking when he lured her to his Cannes, France, hotel room with false promises of an acting role for the purpose of sex.

Weinstein sought to squash the civil lawsuit by arguing that letting it proceed “would unfairly expand the federal sex-trafficking statute to all sexual activity occurring between adults in which one party holds a superior position of power and influence,” court papers show.

Weinstein also claimed that Noble’s assertions that he engaged in a “commercial sex act” don’t apply to her case because nothing of value was exchanged.





Noble sued Weinstein last year, saying he set her up for an unwanted sexual encounter when they met in London, where he told her that “he had a role in mind for her and that ‘it will be good for you.’”

When they met again in February 2014 in Cannes, the movie producer asked Noble to come to the Le Majestic Hotel to discuss her film reel, the lawsuit said.

Instead, he began massaging her and instructed her to “walk up and down the room for him” as part of an “audition” before assaulting her in the bathroom, she claimed.

“Everything will be taken care of for you if you relax,” Noble claims he told her when she resisted his advances.

Judge Robert Sweet’s ruling noted that other courts have applied civil claims of sex trafficking to “defendants who have lured women, under false pretenses, with lucrative promises for sexual purposes.”





“Here the pattern of behavior … alleged a knowing and understanding that Harvey would use fraudulent means to entice Noble to engage in a sex act with him,” Sweet said.

“The promise of a film role, the interview … for the film role, and the assurances that ‘everything will be taken care of for you if you relax,’ including as he forced her to masturbate him, support this,” the judge said.

But the judge did agree to drop Weinstein’s brother, Robert Weinstein, as a defendant, saying that the lawsuit doesn’t successfully claim that he knew about his brother’s shenanigans.

Weinstein’s attorney Phyllis Kupferstein said, “This decision is just the first round, and merely finds that plaintiff has alleged enough to proceed with her case. It does not mean that there is merit to the case. We will seek to appeal the decision. We believe these claims are not legally or factually supported, and ultimately will not be sustained.”





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