Part of case against Weinstein dropped
A New York judge on Thursday dismissed part of the criminal sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein after prosecutors said in court that they wouldn’t oppose the request from lawyers for the once-powerful movie mogul.
The dismissed charge relates to Weinstein accuser Lucia Evans, the Associated Press reported. Evans previously had told the New Yorker that Weinstein had forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004.
On Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office also released a previously sealed letter it had sent to Weinstein’s lawyer in September. According to the letter, the DA’s office had recently learned a third-party witness gave an account to a detective, who then “failed to inform our office of important aspects of the account prior to the indictment in this case.”
Prosecutors maintain the disclosure doesn’t “impact the strength of the remaining case,” including predatory sexual assault.
“In short, we are moving full steam ahead,” assistant district attorney Joan Illuzzi said. “As we do with every case, we will follow the facts of law wherever they may lead, and protect those who are preyed upon as well as the integrity of the process. Those who place their trust in us and the justice system deserve no less.”
Weinstein’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, accused Evans of lying.
“This is a very positive development. I have said from the start that sexual assault is a serious crime, but falsely accusing someone of sexual assault is also a very serious crime,” Braufman told reporters Thursday outside of the courthouse.
An attorney for Evans said Thursday’s development “speaks volumes about the Manhattan DA’s office and its mishandling of my client’s case.”
“The prosecutor’s decision to abandon my client, Lucia Evans, does not invalidate the truth of her claims. It does speak to a system that needs to be reformed,” attorney Carrie Goldberg said in a statement. “The decision to throw away my client’s sexual assault charges says nothing about Weinstein’s guilt or innocence. Nor does it reflect on Lucia’s consistent allegation that she was sexually assaulted with force by Harvey Weinstein.”