In another trial in New York for sexual abuse, former film producer Harvey Weinstein (72) has pleaded not guilty. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office released the new grand jury indictment on September 18, accusing the former Hollywood film mogul of a “criminal sexual act” in 2006.
On September 9, he had emergency heart surgery
On Wednesday, September 18, Weinstein appeared before the Supreme Court in Manhattan, where he pleaded not guilty, as reported by several US media outlets such as ABC News and the New York Times. The former film mogul, who was recently treated in hospital for health problems, was sitting in a wheelchair. He had chosen a black suit and tie for his court appearance. Weinstein had missed the previous court date on September 12 because he was not allowed to leave the hospital after emergency heart surgery on September 9.
That day, prosecutors announced that a grand jury had brought new charges against Weinstein, but that the indictment would remain sealed pending his court appearance. On Wednesday, prosecutors unsealed the indictment accusing Weinstein of sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel in 2006.
His spokesman: “We don’t know who, where or what”
His spokesman Juda Engelmayer previously claimed to be unaware in a statement: “We don’t know who, where or what. We were told it was from 2006.” The crisis communication expert criticized: “It is an obvious attempt by the prosecution to somehow move their parade of mass witnesses in front of the jury through the back door after the appeals court had reprimanded them for the last time.” Weinstein had pleaded not guilty, as he had in the previous accusations. “He never forced the people he was with to be with him.”
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York for sexual assault and rape in a case that launched the MeToo movement. The conviction was overturned in April 2024 due to procedural errors. However, prosecutors announced they would retry Weinstein and convened a grand jury in August. A new trial is scheduled to begin on November 12. Weinstein remains in prison for another 16-year sentence in California in 2022.
