Jack Quinn
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Harvey Weinstein pleaded not responsible to a brand new sexual assault cost on Wednesday, almost 5 years after the disgraced Hollywood film mogul’s earlier intercourse crimes conviction in New York was overturned moon.
Weinstein, 72, who was recovering from emergency coronary heart surgical procedure, pleaded responsible to first-degree prison sexual conduct throughout a listening to earlier than New York State Court docket Choose Curtis Farber in Manhattan.
When requested about his plea to the felony expenses, Weinstein emphasised “not responsible.”
Weinstein nonetheless faces two different prison expenses from an earlier indictment that he has additionally pleaded not responsible to, together with one other cost of first-degree prison sexual conduct and a cost of third-degree rape.
He appeared in courtroom in a wheelchair, sporting a darkish swimsuit and blue tie, with a big bandage on his proper hand.
The brand new expenses, introduced by Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg, accuse Weinstein of sexually assaulting a girl at a downtown Manhattan lodge between April 29 and Might 6, 2006.
“Because of this survivor who bravely got here ahead, Harvey Weinstein has now been charged once more with alleged violent sexual assault,” Bragg stated in a press release.
The identification of Weinstein’s newest accuser has not but been made public.
“She might be totally ready to inform the reality at trial and maintain Mr. Weinstein accountable earlier than a jury of his friends,” her lawyer, Lindsay Goldblum, stated in a press release.
It is unclear whether or not Weinstein’s retrial will embody the three expenses he now faces.
A jury discovered Weinstein responsible of rape and sexual assault in February 2020, lower than 2-1/2 years after sexual misconduct allegations made his case a driving power within the #MeToo motion.
However the state’s highest courtroom, the Court docket of Appeals, in April threw out Weinstein’s conviction and 23-year jail sentence, saying he didn’t obtain a good trial as a result of the decide allowed testimony from girls who Weinstein was not accused of assaulting.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual intercourse with anybody. His authentic trial decide, James Burke, was not reappointed to the bench when his time period expired on the finish of 2022.
New expenses may delay retrial
The brand new expenses have been introduced two months after new accusers got here ahead and prosecutors stated they have been investigating different alleged “violent sexual assaults” by Weinstein.
Farber then tentatively set a retrial date of Nov. 12, however prosecutors stated Wednesday they seemingly will not be prepared till January.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, stated his shopper needed to go to trial “as quickly as doable.”
He later informed reporters that Weinstein “strongly opposed” the addition of latest expenses to the unique case and needed a retrial on the unique expenses as quickly as doable.
Farber didn’t set a brand new trial date however stated he would proceed when each side have been prepared.
Weinstein stays in custody following a separate conviction final 12 months in California for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles and a 16-year jail sentence.
Weinstein’s legal professionals say he suffers from well being issues. On September 8, he was rushed from New York Metropolis’s Rikers Island jail to the hospital for coronary heart surgical procedure.
As soon as one of the highly effective males in Hollywood, Weinstein co-founded Miramax, the studio whose hits embody “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Weinstein’s movie studio filed for chapter in March 2018 following preliminary sexual misconduct allegations.
On the New York trial, prosecutors painted Weinstein as a serial predator who manipulated girls with guarantees of profession development in Hollywood, luring them to lodge rooms or non-public flats, then overpowering and assaulting them.
