A grand jury has indicted Harvey Weinstein on fresh sex crime counts, authorities announced in a New York court Thursday.
Prosecutors said the indictment would stay sealed until the disgraced Hollywood mogul could be prosecuted. According to defense counsel Arthur Aidala, the fresh charges may include up to three further allegations dating back to 2005.
Weinstein did not appear in court on Thursday because he was transported from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital on Monday for emergency surgery to remove fluid from his heart and lungs. Aidala informed the judge that Weinstein “almost died” before the treatment. Weinstein is facing a retrial on rape and sexual assault charges in New York City after the state’s highest appeals court reversed his 2020 conviction, for which he was serving a 23-year term. The judge scheduled a trial for November 12, but the defense pushed back on that date.
“Ethically, we cannot be ready,” Aidala stated.”We are demanding, and have been since the beginning, that we go to trial on the original matter, as is always done when a case is reversed. He is not well. I mean, I understand that lawyers are sometimes known for hyperbole. I can’t overstate the significance of a cardiac procedure. A lung operation is not something I can exaggerate. “He was in the ICU.”
The judge determined that Weinstein would continue to receive treatment at Bellevue. A hearing on his health is set for September 18. Accused Jessica Mann, who testified in the first trial and has attended subsequent hearings, issued a statement later Thursday that read, in part, “This decision once again shows that people who abuse their position of power cannot avoid justice; only at times delay it with means such as wealth, fame, and connections.”
Weinstein’s conviction was reversed:
Weinstein’s 2020 conviction was overturned this spring after the state’s highest court found that the judge in the first trial had unjustly allowed testimony about unrelated charges. Weinstein was convicted of sexually abusing an assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in 2013. After the New York case is resolved, Weinstein is expected to return to California to fulfill his 16-year term for a separate rape conviction.
