Weinstein Arrives at Court, Pleads Not Guilty to Rape Charges
This article was originally published under an erroneous headline indicating that Harvey Weinstein had made a plea deal when in fact he had entered a plea. The information in the article itself was accurate, and did not reflect the error in the headline. The headline was corrected at 3:42 p.m. on the day of publication. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion.
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to rape and criminal sex act charges in New York City Tuesday morning.
Weinstein, 66, appeared before a judge in Manhattan Tuesday to enter his plea.
A grand jury indicted Weinstein last week on one count each of first-degree rape and third-degree rape and one count of first-degree criminal sexual act in cases involving two women.
One of the women alleges Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him, while the other claims Weinstein raped her.
Weinstein has “unequivocally denied” all allegations of non-consensual sexual contact made against him, a spokesperson for the movie mogul said last year.
His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, has challenged the credibility of the alleged victims.
Harvey Weinstein due in court today to enter plea on rape charges @AmericaNewsroom pic.twitter.com/aI9HW807Rr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2018
Brafman told reporters that the rape allegation involves a woman “who (Weinstein) has had a 10-year consensual sexual relationship with” and that the relationship continued long after the alleged assault occurred.
His bail was previously set at $1 million, allowing him to remain free while he awaits trial.
More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of behavior ranging from inappropriate to criminal, with requests for massages to intimidating sexual advances to rape. Some of the women claimed Weinstein lured them into performing the acts with promises of furthering their acting careers.
Among the prominent actresses who came forward with claims against Weinstein were Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Kate Beckinsale, Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino and Annabella Sciorra.
In some cases, women have been reluctant to go public with their allegations against Weinstein, while in other cases, the statute of limitations for bringing charges has expired.
Authorities in New York are interviewing additional women who have come forward with claims against Weinstein. In addition, authorities in Los Angeles and London are also investigating some of the criminal claims made against the movie producer.
On Friday, three women filed a class-action lawsuit against Weinstein, including one woman who alleges that Weinstein raped her after she came to his New York office for a business meeting in 2011.
In addition to the charges of rape and other sex crimes, The New York Times reported that prosecutors are also digging into the books of Weinstein’s companies, searching for evidence of financial crimes in regards to settlements paid to some of his alleged victims.
“The arrest and indictment of Mr. Weinstein is gratifying to the investigators who have spent countless hours laboring to find the truth,” Robert Boyce, who recently retired as the chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, told ABC News. “However, to the victims, the true heroes, it is hopefully a relief to some of the pain they have endured for so many years.”
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