A letter previously filed under a protective order was unsealed on Thursday, which not only revealed credibility issues with one of Harvey Weinstein accusers, but also possible misconduct by a New York detective.
Page Six reports that the unsealed letter from lead prosecutor in the case, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, to defense lawyer Ben Brafman, described an incident between Weinstein and of his accusers, Lucia Evans, as possibly consensual, despite Evans insistence that Weinstein sexually assaulter her.
In a 2017 interview, Evans told The New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, when she was 21, still in school and trying to become an actress. Evans said the incident took place inside Weinstein’s Manhattan office.
According to the letter, a friend accompanied Evans earlier that evening to a Manhattan bar where Weinstein spotted the ladies and said he would pay them to show their breasts. The pair declined, but the friend said Evans told her she later exposed her breasts voluntarily to Weinstein for cash, in the hallway of the bar. The friend said Evans later told her that she gave the entertainment mogul oral sex in exchange for an acting job after she met him at his apartment.
“The Defendant told her, in substance, that he would arrange for the Complainant to receive an acting job if she agreed to perform oral sex upon him,” the letter reads.
The friend indicated she gave a phone interview to a detective on February 2 with her lawyer present, and told him what she remembered about the night in question. The detective, identified as Nicholas DiGaudio, later told prosecutors she failed to cooperate, according to court filings.
Six months later, the friend reportedly told prosecutors the same story she told DiGaudio, but prosecutors said the detective never gave them her statement.
Harvey Weinstein Disclosure Letter by Leigh Egan on Scribd
When prosecutors confronted the detective, he acknowledged he didn’t turn over the details that Evans’ friend provided him, but said he in no way tried to discourage her from speaking out.
Evans denied her friend’s version of events and insisted Weinstein forced himself on her. She also denied exposing her breasts to Weinstein and said she never consented to any form of sex with him.
Yet, the unsealed letter also revealed that prosecutors obtained an email written by Evans in 2015— sent to her husband— which “described details of the assault that differ from the account of the Complainant [Evans]” provided to prosecutors.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the DA dropped the criminal charge against Weinstein on Thursday involving allegations made by Lucia.
[Feature Photo: Harvey Weinstein via AP/Seth Wenig]
