Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul, has been hit with new sex crime charges as revealed by Manhattan prosecutors during a hearing on Thursday, as reported by the Associated Press. The latest indictment against Weinstein is currently sealed and will remain so until Wednesday. These fresh charges arise ahead of his upcoming retrial, following the collapse of his previous rape conviction earlier this year.
In April, Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals, reversing a pivotal case that significantly fueled the #MeToo movement and ignited outrage among survivors of sexual violence. Originally, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty of two charges: forcibly performing oral sex on Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant, in his apartment in 2006, and third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, at a hotel in 2013.
The decision to overturn the conviction came in a narrow 4-3 split, with the appellate judges criticizing the trial court’s decision to allow testimonies from additional women who claimed Weinstein had abused them, although those incidents were not part of the charges against him. Judge Jenny Rivera, an associate judge, emphasized in her ruling, “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
Despite the overturning of his New York conviction, Weinstein remains incarcerated due to a separate 16-year sentence in California. He was convicted there in 2022 for rape, forced oral copulation, and sexual misconduct, adding to his legal woes as he continues to face mounting charges.
