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Saturday, October 12, 2024

Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge

Disgraced Hollywood media mogul Harvey Weinstein appeared in court where he pleaded not guilty to a new sex crime charge after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel in New York in 2006.

The charge was made against the former producer last week and nearly five months after the former Hollywood movie mogul’s 2020 conviction in New York was overturned.

The new indictment accused the former media mogul of forcing a sex act on a woman between 26 April and 6 May, 2006. No other details have been released.

Weinstein, 72, entered his plea to the first-degree felony charge at a hearing before Justice Curtis Farber in a New York state court in Manhattan. When asked for his plea, Weinstein responded “not guilty”.

Jurors had found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in February 2020, less than two-and-a-half years years after sexual misconduct accusations made the case the impetus for the #MeToo movement.

New York’s Court of Appeals, threw out Weinstein’s conviction and 23-year sentence in April, saying he did not get a fair trial because the judge allowed testimony from women who Weinstein was not charged with assaulting.

Weinstein has denied having nonconsensual sexual encounters with anyone.

Prosecutors said during the Wednesday hearing that they would ask Judge Farber to add the new indictment to the original case.

A retrial had been tentatively set for 12 November but prosecutors said that if the cases were combined, they would likely not be ready until January.

Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said his client wants to go trial “as soon as humanly possible.”

Mr Aidala has said it was unfair for prosecutors to seek additional charges after Weinstein’s conviction was overturned.

Prosecutors said in July they were investigating additional alleged “violent sexual assaults” by Weinstein, after new accusers came forward.

Weinstein has remained in custody since his conviction was overturned, because he was convicted separately last year for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Earlier this month, prosecutors in the UK dropped two charges of indecent assault due to the “low prospect of conviction”.

Weinstein was rushed to the hospital from New York City’s Rikers Island jail on 8 September to undergo heart surgery. His lawyers have said he is beset with health problems.

Once among Hollywood’s most powerful people, Weinstein co-founded the Miramax studio, whose hits included “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.”

Weinstein’s film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 after the earlier allegations against him precipitated its implosion.

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