Prosecutors say they are seeking a new charge against the disgraced Hollywood movie producer over sexual assault allegations.
US prosecutors have said they anticipate a new trial in November for Harvey Weinstein as they investigate “additional violent sexual assaults” they say were committed by the disgraced Hollywood movie producer.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said at a hearing in New York state criminal court in Manhattan on Tuesday that the additional assaults Weinstein is accused of committing were still within the statute of limitations to be charged as crimes.
She told Judge Curtis Farber that prosecutors have not yet presented their findings to a grand jury and said she could not provide the court with a timeline for when their investigation will be completed.
“People are still looking into trauma-informed issues,” Blumberg said. “It’s an ongoing process.”
Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020, a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women have accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.
More than 80 women have come forward to accuse Weinstein of crimes and sexual misconduct.
In February 2020, a jury found that the 72-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio sexually assaulted 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 critical error by allowing three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not part of the criminal charges against him.
The court said testimony about “prior wrongdoing” violated Weinstein’s right to a fair trial.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual encounters with anyone.
During Tuesday's court hearing, his attorney Arthur Aidala said it was unfair for prosecutors to seek to add additional victims to the case after the conviction was overturned and suggested the investigation was a delaying tactic by prosecutors.
Weinstein is suffering from a number of medical problems while held in solitary confinement at New York City's Rikers Island jail, Aidala said.
“Once again, we have the individual and we are looking for a crime,” he told the court. “We have the hotline ‘1-800-Get-Harvey.’”
Blumberg responded that the office is actively pursuing allegations of rape that occurred in Manhattan within the statute of limitations.
He said some potential survivors who were not ready to come forward during Weinstein's first trial in New York may have indicated they are now willing to testify.
“There is no delaying tactic on our part,” the prosecutor said. “We are proceeding in the most expeditious manner.”
She said the prosecution's plan is to proceed to trial in the fall, telling the judge that “November would be a realistic time frame.”
The next pre-trial hearing was set for July 19.
