NEW HARV RAPS
3 alleged sex crimes could put him in jail for life
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein appeared in court Monday to plead not guilty to three new sex crimes, including an assault charge involving a third woman.
Weinstein entered the courthouse before 9 a.m. to face the additional charges, which include criminal sex act stemming from a forced encounter in July 2006, and two counts of predatory sexual assault related to allegations of pattern abuse.
The more weighty of the new counts — brought under the theory that the conduct was repetitive — carries a minimum of 10 years to life in prison, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.'s office.
The DA says the 66-yearold Weinstein is charged with "some of the most serious sexual offenses" that exist under state law.
The pariah producer performed oral sex on an unidentified woman against her will on July 10, 2006, according to the superseding indictment.
He surrendered to authorities ahead of his court appearance and was led into the courtroom in handcuffs.
He nodded his head and mumbled incoherently to questions from reporters just before the hearing started.
Weinstein entered a plea of not guilty about 9:30 a.m.
Because of the severity of the new charges, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi argued that he should be restricted to a house or apartment in Manhattan until the trial.
"The charges he's facing now are substantially more serious," she said. The home he had been staying at in Connecticut was sold.
"He's obviously a man of substantial resources . . . it shouldn't be too much of a pull for him to arrange for him to have a home here in Manhattan, and he should only be allowed to leave his home here in Manhattan for doctor's appointments or other emergency services," Illuzi said.
Weinstein's lawyer Benjamin Brafman argued that the home detention was unnecessary and would create distraction before the trial.
“My concern if (it is) moved to New York is ultimately the press would recognize where he is living and he would have a circus atmosphere outside his apartment every day,” he said.
Brafman asked that the $1 million bail with electronic monitoring that allows him to travel around and between New York and Connecticut be continued because Weinstein has never threatened to abscond before or after the charges were announced.
“The suggestion he move to New York makes no sense whatsoever,” the lawyer said.
He argued that Weinstein is not a flight risk and has known of likely charges long before they even happened.