Updated at 3:10 p.m. ET The charges against Harvey Weinstein in New York have expanded. The former Hollywood mogul is already facing first-degree rape and
Updated at 3:10 p.m. ET
The charges against Harvey Weinstein in New York have expanded.
The former Hollywood mogul is already facing first-degree rape and other charges involving incidents with two women, in 2004 and 2013. Now, a grand jury in New York has charged Weinstein with allegedly committing a forcible sexual act against a third woman.
The latest charges pertain to an incident that allegedly happened in 2006, according to a statement from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. The grand jury charged Weinstein « with an additional count of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree… as well as two counts of Predatory Sexual Assault, a Class A-II felony which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. »
« A Manhattan Grand Jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offenses that exist under New York’s Penal Law, » Vance said. « This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward. »
He encouraged other survivors of sexual abuse to reach out to his office.
Weinstein’s attorney Benjamin Brafman said in a statement to NPR that Weinstein will plead not guilty to the new charges.
« Mr. Weinstein maintains that all of these allegations are false and he expects to be fully vindicated, » said Brafman. « Furthermore to charge Mr. Weinstein as a Predator when the interactions were each consensual is simply not justified. »
In May, the district attorney’s office announced that Weinstein had been charged with one count each of first- and third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sex act. Weinstein pleaded not guilty to those charges on June 5, as NPR’s Amy Held reported.
Allegations of Weinstein’s unwanted sexual advances against dozens of women over the course of decades helped fuel the #MeToo movement. Since then, numerous powerful men in many different fields have lost their jobs and reputations, as women and some men have come forward to detail allegations of harassment and assault. NPR is among those organizations that have fired or suspended male executives accused of harassment.
Weinstein surrendered to authorities in May. As NPR’s Colin Dwyer reported at the time, « a judge set bail at $1 million cash or $10 million bond and assigned Weinstein to wear a monitoring device that he must pay for himself. » Here’s more:
« Weinstein, for his part, was fired by the board of the film studio he founded with his brother, Bob, not long after the initial reports were published last October. The Weinstein Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and, after a winding path through the courts, received permission earlier this month to sell its assets to a private equity firm.
« Since the claims surfaced last fall, Harvey Weinstein has been investigated by police in several cities in addition to New York, has been sued for sexual harassment and defamation, and has been expelled from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. »
