Judge rules Harvey Weinstein can be sued as sex trafficker

A Manhattan federal judge ruled Tuesday that disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein can be sued as a sex trafficker by an actress he allegedly groped after luring her to his hotel room with promises of an audition and help with her film and modeling career.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet refused to dismiss the suit by Kadian Noble over an incident at the Cannes film festival, ruling that Weinstein’s use of the proverbial casting couch met the definition of a “commercial sex act” even though it wasn’t a traditional form of payment.

“For an aspiring actress, meeting a world renowned film producer carries value, in and of itself,” Sweet wrote. “The opportunity, moreover, for the actress to sit down with that producer in a private meeting to review her film reel and discuss a promised film role carries value that is career making and life changing.”

The judge also said it was “not in touch with modern reality” for Weinstein to claim that Noble received nothing of value in return for sex.

“The concept of the ‘casting couch,’ in which aspiring actors and actresses are promised valuable professional opportunities in exchange for sexual favors, has been in the American lexicon for nearly a century,” he wrote.

Noble’s suit last year, in the wake of news reports that Weinstein used his power in the film business to exploit dozens of actresses, marked a novel use of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

She said Weinstein “groomed” her by discussing a film role with her in London in 2014, had her meet with aides, then set up a hotel room meeting in Cannes where he grabbed her breasts and groped her on a couch, and later forced further sexual contact in the bathroom.

The lawsuit said she first complied because of the “tangible and intangible benefits” Weinstein could offer her career, and later Weinstein used force to keep her from leaving. But afterward, he didn’t follow through with promises of a role, the lawsuit states.

Weinstein’s lawyers argued the sex trafficking law was designed to aid children or women forced into sexual slavery, not every woman who had an encounter with a powerful man in hopes of being rewarded.

But the judge said Noble met all the requirements of a sex trafficking victim because she was enticed to travel and engage in a commercial sex act with both force and fraudulent promises.

“These allegations go beyond mere nonperformance; they evidence conscious behavior and fraudulent intent,” Sweet said. “… Harvey effectively ended his relationship with Noble the moment" the sex act ended in the bathroom.

The judge did dismiss claims that Weinstein’s brother and partner in The Weinstein Company, Robert, also was culpable for facilitating the alleged trafficking. And the ruling gave the suit the green light to go forward, but didn’t substantiate the lawsuit’s factual allegations.

“This decision is just the first round, and merely finds that plaintiff has alleged enough to proceed with her case,” Weinstein attorney Phyllis Kupferstein said in a statement. “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.”

In addition to lawsuits, Weinstein is now facing criminal charges of sexually assaulting three women in Manhattan. The Weinstein Company is in bankruptcy.