NEW YORK — Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to a new indictment that includes revised charges of predatory sexual assault, a development that causes the judge to delay the start of his trial until early next year.
The tweak to the case is intended to open the door for an actress to testify against Weinstein in a rape and sexual assault trial that had been scheduled to start on September 9.
Weinstein rushes in and out of a Manhattan courthouse quickly to enter the plea. He doesn’t speak with reporters.
After the hearing, his lawyers say they will ask the judge to dismiss the indictment, which they call a “desperate” attempt to salvage the case.
Harvey Weinstein arrives in court, August 26, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
“I think the case itself is weak,” says his lawyer Donna Rotunno.
Weinstein previously pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.
Prosecutors say the new indictment was needed to bring evidence involving Annabella Sciorra, best known for her work on “The Sopranos.” She says Weinstein raped her inside her Manhattan apartment after she starred in a film for his movie studio in 1993.
Weinstein, 67, who’s free on $1 million bail, denies all accusations of non-consensual sex.
— AP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 26, 2019
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
