Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on rape and criminal sex act charges in New York City.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance announced the indictment Wednesday and said it brings Weinstein “another step closer to accountability”.
The move furthers the first criminal case to arise from a slate of sexual misconduct allegations against him. It came came hours after Weinstein’s lawyers said he had decided not to testify before the grand jury.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he would “vigorously defend” against the indictment and ask a court to dismiss it. He called the allegations “unsupported” and reiterated that Weinstein strongly denies them.
In a statement, Vance said: “A grand jury has voted to indict Harvey Weinstein on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, and criminal sexual act in the first degree.”
He went on: “This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged. Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs. The defendant’s recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable. We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand.
“I thank the heroic survivors for their strength throughout this process. I also thank Commissioner James O’Neill and members of the New York City police department for their dedication to this case. This investigation remains active and ongoing.”
Earlier, a statement issued through a spokesman on Wednesday said Weinstein’s lawyers decided there was not enough time to prepare him to testify. They say he learned the specific charges and the accusers’ identities only after turning himself in last Friday, with a deadline set for Wednesday afternoon to testify or not. They say his request for more time was denied.
Prosecutors declined to comment.
Weinstein faces rape and criminal sex act charges involving two women in New York. Dozens more women have accused him of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault in various locales.
The 66-year-old former producer has consistently denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
Weinstein’s principal lawyer, Ben Brafman, held a closed door meeting with others in the judge’s chambers on Tuesday, during which he argued that bad publicity around his client would affect a potential jury. He later maligned one of the alleged victims in the case, saying she had had a romantic relationship with Weinstein before and after allegedly committing sexual misconduct.
Weinstein has been mainly out of the public eye, attending sex addiction rehab in Arizona, since his public downfall last October in the wake of women going public to accuse him of years of abuse of power, sexual harassment and criminal behavior ranging from rape to groping.
He turned himself in last Friday in lower Manhattan and was arrested and taken in handcuffs from the police station to court. He is also being investigated by police in California and the UK.
