Harvey Weinstein appears in court and pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge

Disgraced producer and sex offender Harvey Weinstein was indicted by a New York grand jury on additional sex crime charges

Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to a new first-degree felony charge.

The 72-year-old former film producer appeared in a court in Manhattan on Wednesday (18.09.24), as he faced the accusation of sexually assaulting a woman in a New York hotel in 2006.

Asked for his plea during the hearing, Weinstein said: "Not guilty." Manhattan's district attorney Alvin Bragg Jr confirmed that Weinstein has been charged with a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, both of which related to a previous New York State Supreme Court indictment.

Bragg said: "Thanks to this survivor who bravely came forward, Harvey Weinstein now stands indicted for an additional alleged violent sexual assault. This investigation is ongoing."

"If you have been sexually assaulted, I assure you that our team of dedicated prosecutors, investigators, social workers, and many more stand at the ready to support you."

The new charges were not part of the case that led to his #MeToo conviction in 2020, which has subsequently been overturned.

The new indictment charges were only announced last week, shortly after the former producer underwent emergency heart surgery at a hospital in Manhattan.

Weinstein has always insisted that any sexual activity was consensual. Earlier this month, indecent assault charges against Weinstein in the UK were dropped.

The disgraced movie mogul - who is currently serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted on three counts of sexual assault in a Los Angeles court in 2022 and awaiting a retrial after his 2020 convictions for first degree criminal sexual assault and third degree rape were overturned in April - had been under investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service.

However, the case was recently dropped as there was not a "realistic prospect of conviction".

It comes after the former movie industry titan was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan from the Rikers Island jail in New York City after experiencing chest pains.

He underwent pericardiocentesis surgery remove fluid on his heart and lungs. His prison consultant Craig Rothfeld said he spent time in the ICU and remains in 'pain from the procedure', but was 'not in critical condition', Sky News reported.

Rothfeld said Weinstein had not been feeling well for several weeks and was worsening by the day. Aidala said they requested that jail officials immediately move Weinstein to Bellevue 'based on his complaints to us regarding chest pains.'

In one email, Aidala said, he warned that the movie mogul would 'die' if officials did not take action.

Weinstein is serving a prison sentence following a rape and sexual misconduct conviction in Los Angeles related to an incident in 2013 where he appeared uninvited in a woman's hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival.

He was sentenced to 16 years' prison in February 2023.

He is currently in custody in Rikers Island jail complex while awaiting a retrial in Manhattan after a 2020 conviction for rape was overturned earlier this year in a majority decision from the Court of Appeal in New York.

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