Harvey Weinstein wins dismissal of criminal charge for alleged sexual assault in 2004
Film producer still faces another five charges against him. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them
Manhattan’s district attorney has decided to drop part of the criminal case against Harvey Weinstein.
The development was announced in court Thursday with Weinstein looking on.
The tossed charge involves allegations made by one of the three accusers in the case, Lucia Evans, who was among the first women to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual assault.
In an expose published in The New Yorker one year ago on Wednesday, Evans accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex when they met alone in his office in 2004 to discuss her fledgling acting career. At the time, Evans was a 21-year-old college student.
Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the judge that prosecutors would not oppose dismissal of the count in the case involving Evans. She insisted the rest of the case, involving two other accusers, was strong.