Prosecutor: Harvey Weinstein is being investigated for further sexual assaults

Prosecutors are investigating “additional instances of sexual violence” allegedly committed by former Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein and intend to seek new charges after his previous conviction is overturned, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said in a hearing before Judge Curtis Farber in New York State Criminal Court in Manhattan that the other assaults allegedly committed by Weinstein were still within the statute of limitations and could therefore be charged as crimes.

A jury found the 72-year-old co-founder of film studio Miramax sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

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 ruled that testifying about “previous offenses” violated his right to a fair trial.

Weinstein has denied having involuntary encounters with anyone. Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said Tuesday that it was unfair that prosecutors wanted to add more victims to the case after the verdict was overturned.

“We have a hotline again: ‘1-800 Get Harvey,'” Aidala said in court.

Weinstein suffered from numerous health problems while in solitary confinement at New York’s Rikers Island prison, Aidala said. He accused prosecutors of using delaying tactics to keep Weinstein incarcerated, which Blumberg denied.

“As we said in 2020, there were women who were not ready to continue the legal process. Some of those women are now ready to proceed,” Blumberg said.

The prosecution will try the case in the fall, Blumberg said, but no trial date has been set. Weinstein is expected back in court on July 19.

Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in a separate rape trial in California. That sentence was not affected by the New York court’s decision, and he has not yet begun serving his California sentence.

Miramax’s successful films included Shakespeare in Love And pulp FictionWeinstein’s own film studio of the same name filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.