Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges in LA court
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a slew of sex-crime charges Wednesday during his first appearance in court in California, where he will stand trial on the new round of allegations.
The 69-year-old convicted rapist was rolled into a Los Angeles courtroom in a wheelchair, dressed in a brown jail jumpsuit and face mask, for his arraignment on an indictment charging him with 11 sexual assault counts, including four counts of rape.
Defense attorney Mark Werksman entered the plea, and Weinstein spoke only to say “thank you” to Judge Sergio Tapia, who wished him good luck as the hearing ended.
The disgraced producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault following his conviction in Manhattan in February 2020.
On Tuesday, he was whisked away from the Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York and booked into a downtown LA jail — ending a lengthy fight to stop his extradition to the Golden State.
Los Angeles prosecutors first charged Weinstein in January 2020, just as jury selection was getting underway in his New York case. More charges were added later that year.
The fallen movie mogul was then indicted by an LA grand jury in March based on allegations that he sexually assaulted five women in the City of Angels and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, includes counts of rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint and sexual penetration by use of force. Most of the alleged sexual assaults are said to have happened at hotels in Beverly Hills, some during Oscars week.
The women were not named in the charging documents, however, the identity of one of them, Lauren Young, has been made public.
The model and aspiring actress testified as a prior “bad acts” witness against Weinstein at his Manhattan trial. She has accused him of trapping her in a room at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills on Feb. 19, 2013 and groping her while he masturbated.
Another alleged victim is an Italian model who says that Weinstein raped her at the Mr. C Beverly Hills on Feb. 18, 2013.
Under California law, prosecutors have 120 days after Weinstein’s arrival to begin court proceedings, meaning a trial must start by mid-November.
The raps could land Weinstein another 140 years to life behind bars, if convicted.
He has maintained his innocence, both in New York and LA, and contends that any sexual activity was consensual.
Weinstein’s attorneys have tried to argue that he should be kept in the Buffalo-area prison until a jury is selected in the LA case, citing the ruined Hollywood producer’s declining health, but their requests have so far been denied. His time in custody in California will count toward his New York sentence, officials said.
His lawyers on Wednesday also filed a motion to dismiss three of the 11 counts against him, arguing that the statute of limitations had expired.
“These charges are allegations that were made years and years ago,” his attorney said outside the courtroom.
His next hearing in LA is scheduled for July 29.
With Post wires
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