Judge refuses to dismiss case against Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein failed to convince a New York judge yesterday to throw out the criminal sexual assault case against him, leaving the disgraced film producer bitterly disappointed and bringing him one step closer to trial.

The mogul, 66, refused to respond to shouted questions as he left the courthouse in Manhattan following the brief hearing.

But Benjamin Brafman, his lawyer, said that Weinstein and his high-powered legal team were ‘‘obviously disappointed’’. Weinstein, formerly one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, was charged in May with six counts of sexual misconduct or rape, following accusations made by three women.

In October, charges brought by Lucia Evans, an Irish-Zimbabwean singer, were dismissed after it emerged that Nicholas DiGaudio, the lead New York police department detective in the case, allowed Evans to delete material on her phone, and coached her how to interact with prosecutors.

Prosecutors said they dropped her charges as they were not confident that her story would stand up in court. Weinstein’s team have since then vigorously argued that the other five counts be similarly dismissed.

But yesterday, Judge James Burke outlined why the case should proceed.

He ruled that prosecutors had not misled the Grand Jury, which indicted him in May, and that they were under no obligation ‘‘to search for evidence favourable to the defence’’. – Telegraph Group