Harvey Weinstein's youngest accuser Kaja Sokola has spoken out.
At the time of meeting the movie mogul, then aged 50, Sokola was just 16 years old.
In a recent interview, she explains her alleged interaction with the movie producer in 2002, which led to her filing a lawsuit against him in 2019.
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Speaking to Rolling Stone, Sokola explained how she first met Weinstein in September 2002, shortly after she had arrived in Manhattan.
She had been attending an event set up by her modelling agency, NEXT, and the movie producer spoke to her.
She said: "People at the event said, ‘This is the king of Hollywood, and he can make everything happen.’"
Sokola then explains that Weinstein told her: "If you want to be an actress, I can see you have potential and I would like to meet with you for lunch and discuss it."
She said that while she was cautious about going for lunch with people she didn't know 'lunch seemed safe'.
So, she gave Weinstein her number, he set up a lunch and picked her up in his car.
During that car ride, as Sokola alleges in her 2019 lawsuit, Weinstein asked her age, and she replied that she was 16.
According to the lawsuit, they were then dropped at Weinstein's Soho apartment and within minutes he sexually assaulted her and then ejaculated on the floor.
Sokola tried to run but Weinstein held her arms and began listing off all the women whose careers he'd helped, reeling off names like Gwyneth Paltrow and Penélope Cruz.
He released his grip on Sokola and told her to work on her stubbornness.
Weinstein's attorney, Imran H Ansari, says that the producer 'categorically and emphatically' denies the claims.
The lawyer went on to add: "A timeline of events, corroborated by other evidence, including witness testimony, will refute Ms Sokola’s allegations of sexual abuse as a minor, that were statutorily required to be alleged in her complaint in order to sue Mr Weinstein under the Child Victims Act and not be time-barred due to the passing of the statute of limitations."
The case is ongoing, but in a separate case filed against him, Weinstein was found guilty of rape and a felony sex crime. He is currently serving a 23-year sentence in prison.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 802 9999 between 12pm–2.30pm and 7pm– 9.30pm every day. Alternatively, you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas
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Shola Lee