Weinstein facing charges over two historical UK sex assault claims
HARVEY WEINSTEIN, the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul, is facing sex assault charges in the UK dating back more than 25 years.
Prosecutors have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge the 70-yearold with two counts of indecent assault that allegedly took place against a woman in London in August 1996. Now in her 50s, she was one of seven alleged victims who went to UK police in 2017 in the wake of the Metoo campaign.
Dozens of Hollywood actresses, including Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, Rose Mcgowan and Gwyneth Paltrow, also came forward to make complaints against the producer.
Thurman, the star of films such as Pulp Fiction and The Avengers, gave an interview to The New York Times in which she accused Weinstein of attempting to sexually assault her in his suite at the Savoy hotel in London in the mid 1990s.
Lysette Anthony, a British actress, also waived her anonymity to accuse Weinstein of carrying out a “pathetic, revolting” attack on her at her London home in the late 1980s. She reported the incident to the Met in 2017.
In May 2018, Weinstein was charged with rape and numerous other sex offences in the US and was convicted the following year by a jury in New York. The decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to approve charges in the UK follows a review of the evidence gathered by Scotland Yard as part of its 2017 investigation.
But the chances of Weinstein facing justice in the UK are extremely slim given that he is serving a 23-year prison sentence in the US and is not eligible for parole until 2039, when he will be 87. He is also facing further charges in California and earlier this month lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence in New York.
Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS’S Special Crime Division, said in a statement: “The CPS has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Harvey Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in August 1996.”
Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures for more than two decades and was married to Georgina Chapman, the British fashion designer and actress. Their divorce was finalised before his conviction. In 2004 he was made an honorary CBE for his contribution to Britain’s film industry, but was stripped of the honour in 2020.
Last month prosecutors also approved charges against Kevin Spacey, the Oscar-winning American actor, who has been accused of four sex assaults against three men dating back to 2005. He denies the claims and has vowed to prove his innocence.