Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty to New Sex Crime Charge Ahead of Retrial

Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the new sex crime charge brought against him ahead of his retrial in New York. 

Per The New York Times, Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2006. The official charge is one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree. Weinstein was indicted on the new charge last week, but it wasn’t until today’s arraignment that the indictment was unsealed and details about the charge were revealed.  

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Lindsay M. Goldbrum, the attorney for the Jane Doe whose allegations against Weinstein led to the new charge, said, “Ms. Doe has not shared this story publicly before, nor does she want to be identified at this time. She will be fully prepared to speak her truth at trial to hold Mr. Weinstein accountable before a jury of his peers. We would like to thank the media in advance for respecting Ms. Doe’s privacy while she prepares for her testimony.”

A lawyer for Weinstein did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.

Weinstein did appear at the hearing in Manhattan court Wednesday. He was brought in on a wheel chair after undergoing emergency heart surgery on Sept. 8. Because of his recent health issues, a judge ruled that Weinstein could be held at Bellevue Hospital indefinitely, instead of Rikers Island.

Weinstein’s retrial in New York comes after his 2020 conviction was overturned in April, after an appeals court ruled that the judge who oversaw the first trial should not have allowed testimony from Weinstein accusers who were not part of the charges against him. In May, prosecutors signaled that they might bring additional charges against Weinstein, with Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg telling the court at the time that “some people who were not ready to speak out in 2020 now appear ready to do so.”
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Though only the one new charge was brought, prosecutors appeared to be considering allegations made by three additional victims. These were subsequently presented to a grand jury, who indicted Weinstein on the lone count. 

Weinstein’s retrial is slated to begin in November.