Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with new sexual assault crimes by prosecutors in New York.
Earlier this year, the producer of films such as Shakespeare in Love and The English Patient, was charged with three indictments, including rape and sexual assault, relating to alleged incidents involving two women, in 2004 and 2013. He pleaded not guilty when he was brought before a New York court.
On Monday, New York District Attorney Cyrucs Vance revealed that new charges had been brought in relation to an alleged assault on a third woman.
“A Manhattan Grand Jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offences that exist under New York’s Penal Law,” Mr Vance said in a statement.
“This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward.”
He added: “Our investigation continues. If you are a survivor of the predatory abuse with which Mr. Weinstein is charged, there is still time to pursue justice. Please call us at 212-335-9373.”
Allegations against Mr Weinstein first emerged in October of 2017 in reports in the New York Times and the New Yorker. The claims against a man who had for decades been a Hollywood power-broker, led to a flood of further accusations, not only against Mr Weinstein, but other powerful figures in industries ranging from classical music to high-end catering.
They helped trigger the #MeToo movement, in which women, and men, shared stories of sexual assault and abuse they had suffered on social media. Many said they were speaking out for the first time, or that their claims had previously been ignored.
When Mr Weinstein appeared in the New York Supreme Court, he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on $1m bail. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, claimed the accusations against him were “absurd” and sought to question the integrity of Mr Weinstein’s alleged victims.
Mr Brafman did not immediately respond to enquiries on Monday.
Mr Vance said the three new charges against Mr Weinstein carried a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
“The new charges are in addition to those contained in the previous indictment of Weinstein on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, as well as criminal sexual act in the first degree, for forcible sexual acts against two women in 2013 and 2004, respectively,” he said.
After the accusations were first levelled at Mr Weinstein, who is also the subject of investigations by police in London and Los Angeles, he went to Arizona for sex addiction therapy.
Earlier this year, the board of the company he help establish, The Weinstein Co, fired him, before filing for bankruptcy in March. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also expelled him.
