Here are the key figures in the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault trial

This story is part of #MeToo 2020, a CBC News series examining what's changed since the start of the #MeToo movement two years ago and how the trial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein will impact the future of the movement.

More than two years after a wave of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein ushered in the #MeToo movement, the disgraced movie mogul faces a criminal trial that could him put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Weinstein faces allegations that he raped one woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.

Here are some of the key figures in this pivotal #MeToo case.

Harvey Weinstein: The former Hollywood producer is facing charges of first- and third-degree rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of a criminal sexual act. But Weinstein has also been accused by dozens of other women of sexual misconduct that dates back decades.

He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Anonymous accuser one: She has accused Weinstein of raping her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. 

Anonymous accuser two: Weinstein is also accused of committing a forcible sexual act against a woman in 2006. 

Lucia Evans: Weinstein was initially charged with a criminal sexual act in the first degree relating to allegations made by Evans, a marketing executive. She had told the New Yorker magazine that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004 during a meeting at his office in New York. But when evidence emerged of possible inconsistencies in her account, prosecutors dropped the charge.

Annabella Sciorra: Prosecutors may call the actress to testify against Weinstein, whom she has accused of raping her in her Manhattan apartment in either 1993 or 1994. While too much time has passed to charge Weinstein with the alleged attack, prosecutors can use it to allege a pattern of predatory behaviour.

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey: On Oct. 5, 2017, the New York Times published a story by Kantor and Twohey that alleged Weinstein had been sexually harassing women for decades, including actress Ashley Judd and former employees of Miramax and The Weinstein Company. They also reported that Weinstein had reached at least eight settlements with women stretching back to the early 1990s.

Ronan Farrow: In the Oct. 23, 2017, issue of the New Yorker, Farrow reported about his own investigation into Weinstein. Farrow, who has claimed NBC News suppressed his reporting about Weinstein, said he was told by 13 women that Weinstein had sexually harassed or assaulted them between the mid-1990s and 2015. Three of the women alleged Weinstein raped them. 

Farrow, Kantor and Twohey all shared the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting. Their stories helped spark the worldwide #MeToo movement, as well as police investigations into Weinstein and eventually lawsuits and criminal charges against him.

Ashley Judd: The actress was the first to go public in the New York Times story with allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein. She said that in 1997, Weinstein invited her for a business meeting over breakfast at a Beverly Hills hotel. Instead, she claimed, Weinstein had her sent to his room, where he asked if she would watch him shower and repeatedly asked for a massage.

Rose McGowan: The New York Times story also reported that actress received a $100,000 settlement from Weinstein in 1997 after "an episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival." McGowan declined to comment to the paper, but a week later she posted a series of tweets accusing Weinstein of rape. McGowan, who has since become a vocal activist, claims she turned down a $1-million offer from Weinstein to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as the Times story was set to be published.

Zelda Perkins: Weinstein's former assistant signed an NDA in 1998. But she broke that agreement almost 20 years later, alleging to the Financial Times that Weinstein had sexually harassed her for several years, and had tried to sexually assault a colleague. Her decision to go public put NDAs in the spotlight, prompting questions about whether they just served to protect alleged perpetrators of sexual misconduct.