Harvey Weinstein has raped other women, prosecutors say, but new charges have yet to be decided

(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein appeared in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, where prosecutors accused him of raping more women than in the previous indictment against the disgraced film producer.

Prosecutors told Judge Curtis Farber they had not yet decided whether to file additional charges against him. They were still reviewing allegations from women who came forward after Weinstein’s conviction was overturned on appeal in April.

“We believe the defendant raped and sexually assaulted women in Manhattan even though the statute of limitations has not yet expired,” said Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg. “In 2020, there were women who were unwilling to take legal action. Now they are ready to do so.”

Blumberg would not give Farber a timetable for deciding on new charges, but said she was ready for a retrial in the fall.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and his lawyers have expressed skepticism about possible new accusers.

Defense attorney Arthur Aidala accused the prosecution of delaying tactics.

“They have a defendant and are now looking for a crime,” Aidala said. “They have a hotline: 1-800-Get-Harvey.”

Prosecutors disputed this characterization by the defense.

“In this case, it is certainly not a delaying tactic,” said Blumberg. “There were several women who came forward and said they had been raped by the defendant.”

Weinstein, wearing a suit and tie and with a shaved head, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair pushed by court officials.

Aidala said Weinstein has fluid in his lungs and heart, as well as problems with his spine and eyesight. His diabetes is “increasing beyond measure” while he remains incarcerated, he added.

“He is a sick man,” Aidala said. “He has small children and wants to get out of here.”

Farber admonished the defense during the hearing for making statements outside the courtroom that prosecutors said were intended to intimidate Miriam Haley, a former production assistant who Weinstein sexually harassed. Her attorney, Gloria Allred, said Haley has not yet decided whether she will participate in a retrial of Weinstein. Without her, and without new charges, Weinstein would likely face no more than the prison sentence he has already served if a jury finds him guilty again.

Present at Tuesday’s hearing was Jessica Mann, who gave detailed testimony in Weinstein’s trial in which she said he repeatedly sexually abused her over the course of five years.

“Harvey had every advantage over me at the time. Given the immense physical stature of Harvey’s weight, size and ox-like strength, he used that physicality to trap me and prevent me from leaving,” Mann said at his sentencing in March 2020. “Harvey should not have needed a physical weapon to make me live in fear of the invisible gun to my head that he could pull at any time he wanted.”

Weinstein’s conviction was overturned in April after the New York Court of Appeals found that the trial judge “wrongly admitted testimony about alleged prior sexual conduct that had not been charged, against persons who were not the plaintiffs in the underlying crimes.” The court said those testimony “served no substantial purpose unrelated to propensity” and “portrayed the defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office said at the time that it would retry Weinstein if the alleged victims were willing to come forward again.

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain committed to supporting victims of sexual assault,” a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

Weinstein is expected back in court on July 19.

He is also fighting a rape conviction in Los Angeles, where his defense attorneys argued he was denied a fair trial. In that case, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.