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Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new indictment as trial delayed
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.
“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
