Harvey Weinstein could face life in prison after new sexual assault charges
The three new charges add to three other counts the disgraced US film mogul was charged with in May that stemmed from encounters with women in 2004 and 2013
Disgraced US film executive Harvey Weinstein faces additional counts of sexual assault that could carry a potential life sentence if he is convicted, prosecutors in New York announced.
A Manhattan grand jury voted to charge the once-powerful film producer with the two counts of predatory assault, which carry a minimum 10-year sentence, and an additional count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, resulting from what prosecutors said was a forcible sexual act against a woman in 2006.
The three new charges add to three other counts Weinstein was charged with in May that stemmed from encounters with women in 2004 and 2013.
“A Manhattan grand jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offences that exist under New York’s penal law,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jnr said in a statement on Monday.
“This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward.”
Weinstein, 66, now faces six charges, including rape in the first and third degrees.
Weinstein ‘believes he will be forgiven’ by Hollywood
The Weinstein investigation is continuing, Vance said.
“If you are a survivor of the predatory abuse with which Mr. Weinstein is charged, there is still time to pursue justice,” he said.
Harvey Weinstein is indicted on rape and felony sex act charges
Weinstein has entered a plea of not guilty to the previous charges.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, has said Weinstein plans to “vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies”.
