Weinstein appears in court: Not guilty plea

HARVEY Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to rape and criminal sexual act charges at a court hearing in New York.

The 66-year-old film producer appeared at a Manhattan court for yesterday’s hearing, his first public appearance since he was first charged less than two weeks ago.

He was accompanied by his lawyer Benjamin Brafman as he arrived to a crowd of reporters and photographers.

Mr Brafman previously said that the filmmaker intended to enter a plea of not guilty against the charges, which relate to two separate women.

After Weinstein ( above) was charged on May 25, Mr Brafman said in a statement outside the Manhattan court: “We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges.

“We believe that they are constitutionally flawed. We believe that they are not factually supported by the evidence and we believe that by the end of the process, Mr Weinstein will be exonerated.”

Weinstein’s not guilty plea comes after he was indicted by a grand jury on the charges – rape in the first and third degrees, and a criminal sexual act in the first degree – last Wednesday.

He is currently out on a one million dollar (£751,060) bail, and must wear an electronic tracking device at all times.

Weinstein denies all allegations. g