OAN Staff James Meyers
10:38 AM – Thursday, September 12, 2024
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on new charges by a Manhattan grand jury just before his highly anticipated second sex crimes trial in the city, according to prosecutors on Thursday.
Advertisement
The indictment detailing the charges will remain sealed until Weinstein is arraigned. It could include sexual assault allegations from three women, prosecutors said at a separate hearing last week.
“The Grand Jury has indicted Mr. Weinstein,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg in a morning court hearing.
“We have not unsealed the actual indictment so we won’t speak about the specifics.”
Prosecutors began presenting a case to the grand jury in mid-August. They did not identify the three accusers by name, but described their allegations at the hearing last week.
One alleged assault occurred at a residential building in Manhattan between the years 2005 and 2006, according to prosecutors. A second accuser alleged to have been sexually assaulted in a hotel in Tribeca in May 2016.
The third woman has alleged Weinstein sexually assaulted her at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in 2006.
The latest indictment will add charges to his pending sex crimes trial, which is a proceeding that follows his original conviction and 23-year sentence being overturned in April.
The disgraced Hollywood producer was not present at the Thursday hearing due to not being cleared after an emergency procedure on his heart and lungs.
His attorney, Arthur Aidala, said Weinstein “almost died” after receiving open-heart surgery.
“He has sort of a shunt in his chest which is attached to a bag which is draining fluids from his body,” Aidala said.
An update on his medical condition is set for September 18th.
Weinstein’s new trial was expected to take place in November, but Judge Curtis Farber stated on Thursday that it’s “premature” to think that it could still happen, given Weinstein’s health problems.
Additionally, Weinstein’s attorney argued the new indictment should be “separate” from the previous indictments on which prosecutors planned to retry the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
“We will be ready for trial with our new survivors on November 12,” Blumberg fired back.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below
Be the first to comment