Ex-Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein faces additional sexual assault charge
In this file photo taken on February 21, 2020, Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City.
Former Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein was charged with an additional count of sexual assault in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday.
The felony count of sexual battery by restraint stems from an incident that allegedly occurred in May 2010. The new charge alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel on May 11, 2010. The victim was first 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, according to a statement from the office.
"We are continuing to build and strengthen our case," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in the statement.
"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," Lacey added.
Prosecutors also announced that two cases involving Weinstein were declined for prosecution because the victims did not want to testify against the defendant in this case.
The 68-year-old disgraced Hollywood mogul is out of COVID-19 isolation in a New York state prison. It is still unclear when Weinstein will be transferred to Los Angeles. Upon his arrival, he will be arraigned on the amended complaint.
Weinstein was sentenced on March 11 to 23 years in prison following his recent rape and sexual assault conviction. He was accused of raping one woman in a Midtown Manhattan hotel in New York in March 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on another woman at his apartment in Manhattan in 2006. Weinstein had denied all the allegations, saying any sexual activity was consensual.
Weinstein has been involved in dozens of allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct since investigative reports about his alleged sexual abuse were published on several mainstream media outlets in 2017.
