Harvey Weinstein Faces Maximum Penalty of Life Sentence From New Charges
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Harvey Weinstein. Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Carucci[/caption] A third accuser has come forward with allegations that she was the victim of sexual misconduct at the hands of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that Weinstein, 66, was charged with a first-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault pertaining to conduct from 2006; the latter charges carry a minimum 10-year sentence and a maximum penalty of life in prison. The superseding indictment adds to the first- and third-degree rape charges and the first-degree criminal sexual act charges he received in May. The rape charges relate to an alleged victim from 2013 who, like the third victim, remains unnamed. The criminal sexual act charge pertains to an accuser named Lucia Evans, a former aspiring actress who has said Weinstein forced her to give him oral sex in 2004, and who went public with her story. “This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward,” said Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. in a news release. Assistant Manhattan District Attorneys Joan Illuzzi and Kevin Wilson are leading the prosecution, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to the charges in his first indictment, and intends to plead not guilty to the new charges, said Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman of Brafman & Associates. “Mr. Weinstein maintains that all of these allegations are false and he expects to be fully vindicated,” Brafman said in an email. “Furthermore to charge Mr. Weinstein as a predator when the interactions were each consensual is simply not justified.” Weinstein’s arraignment on the new charges is scheduled for July 9. The new criminal charges add to an already-long list of legal problems for the disgraced producer, who is also a defendant in at least a dozen lawsuits regarding his alleged sexual misconduct filed in courts in Los Angeles, London and Canada. His production company dropped him just days after The New Yorker and The New York Times published articles about Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct with scores of actresses and employees—allegations that failed to materialize into criminal charges and, in some cases, were resolved by settlements. In March, New York magazine published an article detailing the investigation in accusations by Italian model Ambra Gutierrez that Weinstein groped her during a meeting at his office. Following the incident, Weinstein sent Gutierrez away with tickets to a Broadway show and she went to the police. New York City detectives had Gutierrez wear a wire to the show, and could allegedly hear Weinstein admitting to the attack. He allegedly admitted to it again in a subsequent meeting between Weinstein and Gutierrez at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, as well as trying to force her into a hotel room. But Vance declined to pursue charges against Weinstein, citing insufficient evidence; legal observers say prosecutors likely would have pursued him on counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse. Police sources told New York magazine that they thought there was a strong case against Weinstein and that Vance’s ADAs were apparently trying to scuttle the investigation. Following publication, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a rare executive order directing the New York Attorney General’s Office to investigate how Vance’s staff handled the Gutierrez matter. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday as to whether the investigation is still underway, but following the issuance of Cuomo’s order, the office said it would conduct a limited review of Vance’s handling of the case until his investigation is complete. Jeanne Christensen, a partner at Wigdor who represents plaintiffs in a proposed class action against Uber Technologies Inc. claiming that the ridesharing service failed to protect women from sexual assault and who is not involved with the Weinstein case, said Weinstein’s highly publicized arrest in May was a “big moment” for women—it showed that public institutions are taking allegations of sexual assault seriously, she said, and may hearten other accusers to come forward. “I would have to think that this might not be the last one that we hear about,” Christensen said.
