Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty in Los Angeles to charges he sexually assaulted 5 women
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles to sexually assaulting five women as an indictment against the former film producer from March was unsealed Wednesday, authorities said.
Weinstein, 69, appeared in court Wednesday after being extradited from New York. He faces four counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, the Los Angeles County district attorney said.
A grand jury returned the indictment on March 15 for the charges for the sexual assaults, which allegedly occurred at hotels between 2004 to 2013.
"Anyone who abuses their power and influence to prey upon others will be brought to justice," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.
Weinstein is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on July 29.
He is currently serving a 23-year sentence after he was found guilty of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree in New York in February 2020. He was serving out his sentence at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York. His lawyers filed an appeal for the rape conviction in April.
Allegations against Weinstein, who co-founded Miramax film studio, helped fuel the #MeToo movement after more than 80 women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct ini 2017.
The charges in the Los Angeles indictment allege that Weinstein raped a woman between September 2004 and September 2005 and raped another woman on two separate occasions in 2013, according to the district attorney. They also allege that Weinstein sexually assaulted a woman in 2010 and two others in separate incidents in 2013.
The case is still under investigation by the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments and the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
Weinstein's legal team had previously argued against his extradition to LA due to health problems.
"We will be fighting so that Harvey can receive his needed medical care and of course, so that he can be treated fairly," his spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, told The Associated Press Tuesday. "Due process, presumption of innocence and a fair trial are all still his right."
Alex Stone reports on the case for ABC News Radio:
