Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta is the latest female to accuse Harvey Weinstein of rape — and this time there may be enough evidence to arrest him.
Vanity Fair reported on Friday, November 3, de la Huerta’s allegations have launched a new NYPD investigation and NYPD officer Nicholas DiGaudio believes they have enough evidence to move forward with an arrest.
“I believe based on my interviews with Paz that from the NYPD standpoint we have enough to make an arrest,” DiGaudio, who is leading the investigation, told Vanity Fair.
De la Huerta, 33, told the magazine the first alleged rape happened in November 2010. Weinstein offered to give the actress a ride home after she ran into him at the Standard High Line hotel in Manhattan.
“Immediately when we got inside the house, he started to kiss me and I kind of brushed [him] away,” de la Huerta told the mag. “Then he pushed me onto the bed and his pants were down and he lifted up my skirt. I felt afraid… It wasn’t consensual… It happened very quickly… He stuck himself inside me… When he was done he said he’d be calling me. I kind of just laid on the bed in shock.”
The second alleged rape happened in late December of the same year. The disgraced movie producer, 65, showed up at her building after repeatedly calling her, according to the publication.
“He hushed me and said, ‘Let’s talk about this in your apartment,’” de la Huerta recalled to Vanity Fair after she tried to tell Weinstein to leave her alone. “I was in no state. I was so terrified of him… I did say no, and when he was on top of me I said, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ He kept humping me and it was disgusting. He’s like a pig… He raped me.”
At press conference on Friday, November 3, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert K. Boyce also spoke about the allegations.
“We have an actual case here,” Boyce said. “We’re happy with where the case is right now. Mr. Weinstein is out of state, we would need an arrest warrant to arrest him. Right now we’re gathering our evidence and continue to do so.”
The New York Times first detailed nearly 30 years sexual assault and abuse allegations against Weinstein in early October. Since then dozens of allegations have surfaced, with actresses including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Ashley Judd among the women alleging harassment, while others like Rose McGowan claim sexual assault.
He was fired from The Weinstein Company on October 8. Weinstein previous denied allegations in a statement to Us Weekly. “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein,” his lawyer said in a statement. “Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.”
