Harvey Weinstein Charged By Grand Jury With Three Additional Sexual Assault Charges
In a further development to the widely publicized case of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged repeated sexual misconduct throughout his career, it appears that the former film producer has now been charged with three additional crimes on Monday in New York, all related to alleged sexual misconduct.
As reported by TMZ, Weinstein, who is 66-years-old, was called before a U.S. court for the first time back in May due to his arrest, which was made in connection with accusations of rape from two women. Of these initial charges, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to both.
However, this Monday, July 2, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. charged Weinstein, who was once one of the most prominent names in all of Hollywood, with yet another count of criminal sexual act in the first degree in relation to what was an alleged forced sexual act against another woman in 2006, as well as two subsequent offenses for predatory sexual assault.
Where he is being tried, predatory sexual assault carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Vance, in a statement this morning, said “A Manhattan grand jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offenses that exist under New York’s penal law. This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward. Our investigation continues.”
These new charges come on top of those charges Weinstein faced in his previous indictment, which included rape in the first and third degrees, as well as criminal sexual act in the first degree, for alleged forcible sexual acts against two women in 2013 and 2004.
Although the district attorney did not directly share the alleged victim’s name, TMZ reported that “the incident sounds very much like the one a woman named Mimi Haleyi described during a news conference last year with her attorney, Gloria Allred. Mimi claimed Weinstein attacked her in 2006.”
Weinstein’s actions have spurred now a countless number of females and males in positions of power throughout music, film, and television to speak out about their own personal instances of sexual abuse at the hands of others, whether having been Weinstein or not.
The current Me Too movement across social media platforms was brought about by accusers of Weinstein speaking out publicly against him, and through that, empowering other individuals to speak out about other situations in which they have been the victim of sexual misconduct.
