Harvey Weinstein Hit With New Sexual Battery Charge By L.A. District Attorney

Dominic Patten and Erik Pedersen
·4 min read

Click here to read the full article.

Harvey Weinstein is out of coronavirus isolation in a New York state prison, but the convicted sex offender now is facing even more charges out in Los Angeles.

Just over four months after L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey hit the Oscar-winning producer with a series and rape and sex-crime charges, the City of Angels prosecutor has added a sexual battery by restraint charge. Already sentenced to 23 years behind bars last month, Weinstein now faces 30-plus years in prison on the West Coast, and the extradition process has begun.

More from Deadline

“We are continuing to build and strengthen our case,” Lacey said. “As we gather corroborating evidence, we have reached out to other possible sexual assault victims. If we find new evidence of a previously unreported crime, as we did here, we will investigate and determine whether additional criminal charges should be filed.”

The new charge alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel on May 11, 2010. The victim first was interviewed by law enforcement in October 2019 as a possible corroborating witness in the case. Last month, she provided detectives with information confirming that the assault took place within the 10-year-statute of limitation.

This follows the charges that Lacey laid against Weinstein the day his New York trial began, which led his lawyers to seek a delay in that proceeding. The judge denied their request.

Local prosecutors said it remains unknown when Weinstein will be transferred to Los Angeles County.

Right after his February 24 conviction in Manhattan, Weinstein was sent to Bellevue Hospital after experiencing chest pains.” Minutes after his March 11 conviction, he returned to the county’s oldest public hospital, again for chest pains. A week later he was transferred from the notorious Rikers Island to a state prison in Fishkill, NY.

Hollywood Reacts To Harvey Weinstein Sentencing: “This Gives Me Renewed Hope In The U.S. Justice System,” Says Reese Witherspoon

First arrested New York in late May 2018, Weinstein initially faced two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count each of first-degree rape and third-degree rape in New York. Subject to travel restrictions reinforced last August 7, he had been out on a $5 million bail after entering a not guilty plea on July 9, 2018. Weinstein entered a plea of not guilty again on August 26 last year when a new indictment was added.

Accused by Ashley Judd in a now temporarily halted case, failing to get a sex-trafficking class action tossed out, and the subject of a more recent lawsuit from a woman who says he abused her when she was 16 in 2002, Weinstein is also facing allegations from close to 100 other women who say he sexually assaulted or sexually harassed them. Over the past few months, several of those individuals are refusing to participate in a potential $25 million over-arching settlement that is part of an overall $45 million deal on the table.

Using terms like “insulting” to describe the proposed settlement on March 9, several Weinstein accusers publicly called on New York Attorney General Letitia James to reject that proposed multimillion-dollar settlement with Weinstein and his former company – a deal that would see millions more for lawyers and former members of the Weinstein Company board with no admission of guilt on the part of Weinstein himself.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.