The British authorities have licensed prison fees in opposition to Harvey Weinstein on two counts of indecent assault in opposition to a lady in 1996 in London, the nation’s Crown Prosecution Service introduced in a news release Wednesday.
Mr. Weinstein, 70, has been convicted of felony intercourse crimes in New York and is awaiting trial in Los Angeles, the place he has been charged with a number of counts of forcible rape, amongst different fees.
“Charges have been authorized against Harvey Weinstein, 70, following a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” Rosemary Ainslie, the pinnacle of the prosecution service’s particular crime division, stated in a press release.
Earlier this month a New York appeals court docket upheld Mr. Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony intercourse crimes, growing the probability that he would serve a good portion of his 23-year sentence. A lawyer for Mr. Weinstein stated on the time that his authorized group would ask the state’s highest court docket, the Court of Appeals, to assessment the choice.
Mr. Weinstein have to be formally charged at a police station in England or Wales, stated David Lindsell, a spokesman for the prosecution service. He declined to touch upon the potential for extradition.
A lawyer for Mr. Weinstein, Barry Kamins, declined to remark.
Mr. Weinstein was a robust Hollywood movie producer till his downfall in 2017, when The New York Times reported allegations that he had sexually abused girls over the course of almost three many years. In the aftermath, dozens of girls got here ahead to accuse Mr. Weinstein of sexual misconduct or assault; he maintained that he had solely engaged in consensual sexual exercise.
The accusations spurred a global reckoning round sexual assault and harassment, with girls in many fields coming ahead with public allegations in opposition to high-profile males in what grew to become referred to as the #MeToo motion.
In 2018, Mr. Weinstein was arrested in New York City on intercourse crime fees. He stood trial in 2020, and a jury discovered him responsible of two felonies — a prison sexual act in the primary diploma and third-degree rape — and acquitted him on two fees of predatory sexual assault.
In Los Angeles, Mr. Weinstein was indicted on fees that he sexually assaulted a number of girls in separate incidents between 2004 and 2013. He was transferred to California to face the fees and pleaded not responsible.
This is the second time in current weeks that prosecutors in Britain introduced that that they had licensed prison fees in opposition to a outstanding determine from the American leisure business accused of sexual misconduct. Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service stated it had licensed fees in opposition to the actor Kevin Spacey on 4 counts of sexual assault in opposition to three males. Mr. Spacey stated that he would voluntarily journey to Britain to face the fees.
