LOS ANGELES — Fifty-eight women in two weeks on two continents — those were the latest numbers Friday as the list of actresses, models and studio workers who have accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of everything from sexual harassment to rape continued to grow.
The latest accuser is an Italian model and actress whose claim that Weinstein raped her four years ago in a Beverly Hills hotel is now under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, NBC News has confirmed.
That revelation came as Oscar-winner actress Lupita Nyong’o recounted in a piece for The New York Times how Weinstein tried to cajole her for a massage in his home.
“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein,” his spokesperson has stated repeatedly as women at a rate of about four-per-day have come forward with tawdry new tales.
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But the 38-year-old Italian woman is now the sixth to accuse Weinstein of rape. And because her allegation falls within California’s 10-year statute of limitations for rape cases, it raises the possibility that the powerful producer could be prosecuted if police conclude there is enough probable cause to proceed.
Her lawyer, David Ring, is expected to divulge more details later Friday about the status of the police probe into the alleged assault in 2013 at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel.
Weinstein’s latest accuser, who contacted the police on Tuesday, told investigators the producer “bullied his way in my hotel room, saying ‘I’m not going to (have sex with) you, I just want to talk.”
But once inside, Weinstein”forced me to do something I did not want to do,” she told detectives. “He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”
Weinstein allegedly assaulted the woman even after she tried to show him pictures of her children and mother, who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time, she told police.
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Her account, which was first reported by The Los Angeles Times and confirmed by NBC News, is similar to that of actress Lucia Evans, who told The New Yorker magazine that Weinstein raped her in 2004.
Actresses Lysette Anthony, Asia Argento and Rose McGowan have all publicly claimed that they were either raped or forced to perform a sex act by Weinstein. A sixth unnamed women told The New Yorker she too was raped by Weinstein.
The announcement by the LAPD comes days after it was revealed that the NYPD is investigating two credible allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein.
The New York Times has also reported that eight women have been paid civil settlements by Weinstein or his companies.
Weinstein resigned this week from the board of Weinstein Co., which is best known for Oscar-winning movies such as the “Hateful Eight,” and “The King’s Speech.”
Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles, Corky Siemaszko from New York.