US prosecutors face further sexual assault investigation | Court news

Prosecutors are seeking new charges against the disgraced Hollywood film producer on allegations of sexual assault.

Prosecutors in the United States have announced that they expect to reopen the case against Harvey Weinstein in November as they investigate “further brutal sexual assaults” they believe the disgraced Hollywood film producer committed.

State Attorney Nicole Blumberg said Tuesday in a hearing in New York State Criminal Court in Manhattan that the additional assaults Weinstein is accused of are still within the statute of limitations and could therefore be charged as crimes.

She told Judge Curtis Farber that prosecutors had not yet presented their findings to the grand jury and said she could not provide the court with a timeline for the completion of their investigation.

“People are still investigating based on trauma,” Blumberg said. “It’s an ongoing process.”

Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020, a milestone in the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other areas of sexual misconduct.

More than 80 women came forward and accused Weinstein of crimes and sexual abuse.

A jury found in February 2020 that the 72-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio sexually abused former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, but the New York Court of Appeals ruled in April that Judge James Burke, who presided over the trial, made a serious error by allowing three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not part of the charges against him.

The court said that testifying about “past offenses” violated Weinstein’s right to a fair trial.

Weinstein has denied having had any encounters with anyone without his consent.

During the court hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer Arthur Aidala said it was unfair of the prosecution to add more victims to the case after the verdict was overturned and suggested that the investigation was a delaying tactic by the prosecution.

Weinstein suffered from a number of health problems while in solitary confinement at New York’s Rikers Island prison, Aidala said.

“Once again, we have the individual looking for a crime,” he said in court. “We have the hotline ‘1-800-Get-Harvey.'”

Blumberg responded that the office is actively pursuing the statute of limitations on rape in Manhattan.

She said some potential survivors who were unwilling to come forward during Weinstein’s first New York trial may have signaled they were now willing to testify.

“There are certainly no delaying tactics on our part,” said the prosecutor. “We are moving forward as quickly as possible.”

She said the prosecution plans to open the trial in the fall and told the judge, “November would be a realistic timeframe.”

The next pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 19.