MOVIE BOSS HARVEY DENIES NEW SEX CLAIMS But lawyer says more may follow

IN COURT: Movie mogul is said to have sexually assaulted a string of women MOVIE producer Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a woman in 2006.

It is the third criminal sex assault case brought against him and his lawyer says he expects further charges to follow.

More than 70 women, mostly young actresses and other women employed in the movie business, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape, in a series of incidents dating back decades.

The accusations against Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement that has seen hundreds of women publicly accuse powerful men in business, politics and entertainment of harassment and abuse, lifting a shroud that had long shielded such behaviour.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, the 66-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio was brought handcuffed into a Manhattan court to face the latest charges.

New York state Supreme Court Justice James Burke rejected prosecutors’ request to order house arrest for Weinstein, allowing him to remain free on the £1m bail that has been in effect since he pleaded not guilty in June to charges he assaulted two other women.

He was subdued throughout the hearing, pleading “not guilty” and responding “yes, sir” when the judge told him to stay away from his accusers.

His defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman told journalists afterwards: “Mr Weinstein is not a predator, he is not a rapist, and he will be exonerated” but conceded that he believed more charges may follow.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi said that the number of Weinstein accusers “shows the breadth of the criminality here”.

Prosecutors contend Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on the woman in 2006. The latest charges carry a maximum life sentence.

Earlier charges included two counts of rape and one count of criminal sexual act.

Weinstein was charged after a months-long investigation by the New York Police Department.