Medical expert talks about erectile dysfunction shot at Harvey Weinstein's NYC sex assault retrial
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein's lawyers tried to deflate one of the rape claims against him Wednesday with a medical expert's testimony on how long it takes for an erectile dysfunction injection to work.
The expert, Virginia-based doctor and pharmacist Matthew Lee, told jurors that the medication, sold under the name Caverject, must be mixed by hand and injected directly into the penis, and it takes five to 20 minutes to kick in.
Lee's testimony comes after one of Weinstein's three accusers at his Manhattan Supreme Court sexual assault retrial, Jessica Mann, accused the former Miramax mogul of raping her within moments of checking into a room at Midtown's DoubleTree Hotel on March 18, 2013.
Mann told jurors she noticed a needle in the bathroom trash afterward, and when she looked up the medication, she learned it was used to restore function to his 'dead penis.'
Lee testified that preparing the medication takes time, since a dose 'comes with a little plastic container, two bottles, a syringe and two needles,' and the process involves mixing powder with water using one needle, then drawing the mixture out with a second needle.
'After the medicine is injected into the shaft of the penis, how long does it take to take effect?' Weinstein defense lawyer Arthur Aidala asked,' with Lee responding, 'It takes anywhere from five to 20 minutes to take effect. The average is 10 to 15 minutes.'
Lee, who never examined or met Weinstein, was the defense team's first witness after prosecutors rested their case, six weeks into the trial.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg grilled the doctor during her cross-examination, rattling off the various medical topics he's testified as an expert on — including opioids, homicide, drug overdoses, physical and cognitive impairments, and drug screenings.
'Yet you've never been retained as an expert in erectile dysfunction?' she asked, and Lee responded, 'Not necessarily, but there's a common theme to all those cases, and that is pharmacology.'
The trial featured allegations from three accusers — Mann, former TV production assistant Miriam Haley, and Polish model and aspiring actress Kaja Sokola.
Mann and Haley testified at Weinstein's 2020 Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which ended in a guilty verdict and a 23-year prison term.
The state's highest court overturned the jury's guilty verdict in that case last year, ruling 4-3 that the trial court judge shouldn't have allowed testimony of 'uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.
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