Harvey Weinstein Indicted Ahead of Upcoming Rape Trial
Five days after being arraigned and posting $1 million bail, Harvey Weinstein was indicted Wednesday by a Manhattan grand jury, Variety reports. The former Miramax and Weinstein Company co-chairman now formally faces two rape charges — one first-degree, one third-degree — plus one charge for criminal sexual acts. If found guilty, the 66-year-old could earn up to 25 years imprisonment.
New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement, “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.”
The alleged victims in this case are Lucia Evans, who told The New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him at Miramax’s offices in 2004, and an unidentified woman, who claims she was raped by the Oscar-winning producer at the DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel on March 18, 2013.
Weinstein is also being investigated by police in Los Angeles and London. Since early October, more than 100 women have accused him of improper behavior. Actresses Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, and Paz de la Huerta are among those who say Weinstein raped them; they all issued public statements reacting to his surrender to the NYPD on May 25. Weinstein’s legal troubles also include a sexual harassment and defamation lawsuit from Ashley Judd, filed last month.
Weinstein’s next hearing will take place on July 30. Read IndieWire’s firsthand account of his arraignment here.
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