Manhattan jury indicts Weinstein on rape and criminal sexual act charges
A grand jury voted on Wednesday to indict Harvey Weinstein on charges he forced one woman to perform oral sex and raped a second woman at a hotel, the Manhattan district attorney said.
The indictment, which was expected, was handed up less than a week after the police arrested Weinstein after a months-long investigation into sexcrime allegations.
“This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged,” the district attorney, Cyrus Vance, said in a statement.
Last week, Weinstein surrendered to police and was charged, through a criminal complaint, with first-degree rape and other offences. The district attorney was obligated to seek a grand jury indictment on those charges within six months, and prosecutors moved quickly after Weinstein indicated on Wednesday afternoon that he would not testify in his own defence before the grand jury.
The indictment charges Weinstein with first-degree and third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act. The top charges carry a penalty of between five and 25 years in prison, if convicted.
Weinstein, the once-powerful movie producer disgraced after more than 80 women accused him of sexual misconduct, was released last Friday after turning in his passport and posting US$1 million (32 million baht) bail.
When he was brought before a judge last Friday, Weinstein notified prosecutors that he might want to give his version of events to the grand jury. The lead prosecutor, Joan Illuzzi, said Weinstein had agreed to decide by Wednesday whether to testify before the grand jury.
In a statement on Wednesday, Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said the movie producer did not have sufficient time to prepare testimony, having learned the details of the accusations and identities of his accusers late last Friday afternoon, just before Memorial Day weekend.
Brafman also said “regardless of how compelling Mr Weinstein’s personal testimony might be, an indictment was inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction of Mr Weinstein”.
Brafman said his client would plead not guilty and “vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies”. “If this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr Weinstein to be acquitted,” he said.