Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Charge
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of sexually assaulting a woman in 2006, the third criminal sex assault case brought against him.
More than 70 women, mostly young actresses and women employed in other areas of the movie business, have accused the 66-year-old cofounder of the Miramax film studio of sexual misconduct, including rape, in a series of incidents dating back decades.
The accusations gave rise to the #MeToo movement in which hundreds of women publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual harassment and abuse, lifting a shroud that had long shielded such behavior.
Weinstein has been free on $1 million bail following his May arrest and not guilty plea on charges he sexually assaulted two other women, one in 2004 and one in 2013. He has repeatedly denied having any non-consensual sexual encounters.
Prosecutors contend that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on the woman who was his 2006 victim. The latest charges include two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carry a maximum life sentence, and one count criminal sexual act, also a felony.
Details from the 2004 case align with an account by Lucia Evans, a former aspiring actress who told the New Yorker magazine in October 2017 that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.