Judge deals blow to Weinstein ahead of rape trial
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s bid to throw out the most serious charges in his sexual assault case has been rejected by a New York judge, dealing a big blow to the disgraced movie mogul as he sought to limit the scope of his looming trial and any potential punishment.
The ruling clears the way for prosecutors to bolster their case with testimony from actress Anabella Sciorra who says Weinstein raped her in 1993 or 1994. It also leaves open the possibility of a life sentence if Weinstein is convicted at his trial, scheduled to begin on Jan. 6.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped a woman in a New York hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006. He is free on $1 million US bail and maintains that any sexual activity was consensual.
In recent court filings, Weinstein’s lawyers objected to two of five counts against him — both stemming from a charge called predatory sexual assault, which carries a maximum life sentence and requires prosecutors to show a pattern of misconduct.
Weinstein’s lawyers argued those counts should be thrown out because prosecutors are choosing to use Sciorra’s allegation to show he is a sexual predator who committed sex crimes against multiple women, even though that alleged attack predates the charge being enacted into law in 2006.
But Judge James Burke ruled that such a strategy is allowed under state law. While Sciorra’s allegation is too old to be the basis for criminal charges, prosecutors can use it as part of showing a pattern of alleged predatory behaviour, Burke wrote.
Weinstein’s lawyers also argued that prosecutors failed to provide enough information for him to defend himself against Sciorra’s allegation. On a disclosure form, prosecutors listed the approximate date of the alleged incident as “the winter season spanning 1993-1994,” and said it happened at “nighttime” in “a location in New York City.”
Burke rejected that, too, saying that prosecutors had shown they made diligent efforts to narrow down the date of the alleged rape and that Weinstein’s lawyers were previously provided with the specific location.