Police on both sides of the Atlantic are investigating Harvey Weinstein over allegations of sexual assault as the scandal surrounding the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul mounts.
The studio executive and political power broker is facing allegations of rape, unwanted touching and assault by a number of women, including accusations of harassment by actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, in recent stories published in The New York Times and The New Yorker.
Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister declined to comment on the New York Police Department investigation. CNN reached out for comment regarding the fresh investigation launched in London, but has not yet received a response.
When asked about the New Yorker story, a Weinstein spokeswoman told CNN on Tuesday: « Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. »
The movie producer has previously denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex.
Related: Gwyneth Paltrow and many others accuse Weinstein of harassment
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told CNN that an alleged sexual assault involving Weinstein, which was referred to the London force by police in northern England, will be assessed by officers from the child abuse and sexual offenses command.
Merseyside Police, which covers area in and around the city of Liverpool, said the allegation related to an incident in the 1980s.
« Merseyside Police can confirm a report was received at 8.40 a.m. on Wednesday of an alleged sexual assault in the London area in the 1980s, » it said in a statement.
Similar allegations have riled the criminal justice system across the pond, where the NYPD said on Thursday that it was investigating claims against the Hollywood producer detailed in the New Yorker article.
Among those is a 2004 incident involving aspiring actress Lucia Evans, who alleged that Weinstein forced her to « perform oral sex on him » in a Miramax office in New York, the New Yorker reported.
When the NYPD became aware of the 2004 allegations, and other criminal allegations detailed in the New Yorker piece, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce directed investigators from the Special Victims Unit to identify, locate and interview the victims in the article, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN.
Related: Explosive Weinstein stories expose mogul’s power over media
Weinstein could be subject to arrest in regard to the 2004 incident if law enforcement has enough evidence to prosecute, the source added.
Part of the NYPD investigation includes talking to Ronan Farrow, the reporter behind the explosive New Yorker article, who police believe can help identify the unnamed woman.
CNN has reached out to Farrow for comment.
Earlier this week, the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office traded public finger-pointing in response to questions about why Weinstein was not charged with a crime after a 2015 sting operation recorded him making potentially incriminating comments to a young woman.
A New York attorney who represented Weinstein in 2015 discussions with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office regarding the allegations made by Ambra Battilana Gutierrez told CNN the district attorney had found « no crime was committed. »
Elkan Abramowitz, former partner of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., would not elaborate on what aspects led the D. A. to find that « no crime was committed, » nor who was interviewed during the investigation.
