Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new indictment charging him with criminal sex act
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new indictment charging him with criminal sex act in the first degree.
He was wheeled into a Manhattan courtroom wearing a black suit, white shirt and tie.
The former movie mogul is charged in the new indictment based on the allegations of a woman who said he sexually assaulted her on one occasion in 2006 at a Manhattan hotel.
He is also charged in a previous New York State Supreme Court indictment with criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.
"Thanks to this survivor who bravely came forward, Harvey Weinstein now stands indicted for an additional alleged violent sexual assault," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Weinstein has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.
"Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody," his attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters outside the courthouse following the arraignment on Wednesday.
The woman whose allegations form the basis of the new indictment against Weinstein does not want to be identified but is "fully prepared to speak her truth at trial," her attorney said.
The attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum, said her client, identified only as Jane Doe, had not shared her story with the public but now wishes "to hold Mr. Weinstein accountable."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office presented to the grand jury allegations of three separate women who said Weinstein sexually assaulted them. Their allegations were not part of the initial trial of Weinstein that ended in a conviction, which was later overturned on appeal.
Aidala said he does not know the name of the alleged victim in the new indictment and is awaiting discovery from prosecutors. He said Weinstein is "somewhat relieved" only one indictment was unsealed on Wednesday.
"There were reports that there were going to be three indictments handed down today, and in fact, there is one indictment that was unsealed," Aidala said. "We're making the assumption that that's the only indictment that's going to be unsealed."
Weinstein, 72, missed his last court date after being rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery.
The new indictment comes months after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 sex crimes conviction. He had been found guilty of criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
In a scathing 4-3 opinion in April, the court found the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."
"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement earlier this year, when the conviction was overturned.
