[ad_1]
Harvey Weinstein leaves the courtroom of the New York Criminal Court on January 6, 2020 in New York City. (Stéphanie Keith / Getty Images)
To the press room
UPDATE 12:43 p.m. PT – Thursday, July 22, 2021
Convicted rapist and former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual assault in his second trial on Wednesday. Weinstein filed his plea in a Los Angeles courtroom after his extradition from New York.
The 69-year-old is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York City after being convicted of rape and sexual assault last February when more than 80 women filed sexual assault allegations against him in 2017 .
In his second trial, prosecutors alleged that he sexually assaulted five women in the Los Angeles area from 2004 to 2013. Following the not-guilty plea, Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, approached several health problems of his clients which he said would require medical attention to appear at trial.
Harvey Weinstein appears during his appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court on July 9, 2018 in New York City. (Jefferson Siegel-Pool / Getty Images)
Werksman also claimed that the accusations against the former Hollywood executive were both unfounded and too old to be supported by evidence. Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents two of the victims in the case, disputed Werkman’s comments that the allegations were unfounded because they happened years ago.
“Allegations of sexual assault and rape take a long time to be reported, so the idea that they may not have been disclosed to a law enforcement officer for many years does not mean that they are not credible, ”Allred said.
Meanwhile, Weinstein is being held without bail. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment. His next court hearing is set for July 29.
MORE NEWS: Democrats under fire for blatantly ignoring human rights abuses
[ad_2]
Source link