The lawyer for an Italian actress who has accused ousted Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape says his client was “scared to death” after the incident.

“She has told me her greatest regret is opening that door. She had no idea what was coming,” Dave Ring said during a press conference live-streamed on the entertainment website TMZ.

Weinstein “bullied” his way into her hotel room, dragged her into the bathroom and raped her, she told the Los Angeles Times in a story published on Thursday.

The alleged rape happened in February in 2013 during the Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest in Los Angeles, Ring said.

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, met Weinstein only once briefly before the incident, Ring said. She did not report the incident immediately because she was “scared to death”.

The fact that other women have come forward gave her the strength to do the same, he said.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has interviewed the woman and has opened an investigation into the incident.

The 38-year-old woman was the sixth to make allegations of rape or forced sex acts to the LAPD against Weinstein, 65, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Weinstein’s spokeswoman said Thursday he unequivocally denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.

The New York City Police Department said last week it plans to reopen a case against Weinstein dating back to 2004, while British police said they were examining “an alleged sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s”.

At a separate press conference Friday with women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, former US actress Heather Kerr said Weinstein forced himself on her in an encounter that took place when she was in her 20s.

At least 40 women, including Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan, and Lupita Nyong’o have levelled allegations against Weinstein since the New York Times reported two weeks ago that he had paid off at least eight women who claimed he had sexually assaulted them.