Weinstein's attorneys mount defense as sex assault trial nears end

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Attorneys for former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will wrap their defense this week, as the sex assault trial heads for a conclusion.

Weinstein's defense began to call a few more witnesses after the trial resumed in New York City on Monday. Afterward, both sides will present closing arguments -- as soon as the end of this week.

Weinstein, 67, once one of the most powerful figures in the movie business, is looking at significant prison time, if convicted, on five counts including first-degree and third-degree rape, predatory sexual assault and first-degree sex assault.

Prosecutors rested their case last week after after calling six women. Weinstein is accused of raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcing a sex act on another seven years earlier. One prosecution witness, actress Annabelle Sciorra, testified last month she was raped in the early 1990s after Weinstein forced his way inside her apartment.

The defense began its case on Friday with testimony from Paul Feldsher, a friend of Sciorra's, who said the actress told him she'd done a "crazy thing with Harvey," which he understood to mean a consensual sexual encounter.

The defense also called Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist and memory expert, who testified that memories of sexual encounters "fade over time" and can be distorted by "post-event information" like news reports.

Weinstein, who co-founded Miramax with his brother in 1979, also faces similar charges in California.