Chattanooga Times Free Press

Weinstein to surrender in sexual probe

- BY COLLEEN LONG

NEW YORK — Law enforcemen­t officials say Harvey Weinstein is expected to surrender to authoritie­s Friday morning to face criminal charges in a months-long investigat­ion into allegation­s that he sexually assaulted women.

The two officials said the criminal case involves allegation­s by Lucia Evans, a former actress who was among the first women to speak out about Weinstein. The case would be the first criminal charge against the film producer since scores of women began coming forward to accuse him of harassment or assault, triggering a cascade of accusation­s against media and entertainm­ent figures that has become known as the #MeToo movement.

The two officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigat­ion.

A grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case for weeks.

The precise charges Weinstein is expected to face weren’t immediatel­y clear. Weinstein’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment. Weinstein has said repeatedly, through his lawyers, that he did not have nonconsens­ual sex with anyone.

Evans told The New Yorker in a story published in October that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a daytime meeting at his New York office in 2004, the summer before her senior year at Middlebury College.

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