Harvey Weinstein was indicted today on rape and criminal sex act charges, furthering the first criminal case to arise from a slate of sexual misconduct allegations against the former movie mogul.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said the indictment brings Weinstein "another step closer to accountability.''
The announcement came hours after Weinstein's lawyers said he'd decline to testify before the grand jury because there wasn't enough time to prepare him and "political pressure'' made an indictment unavoidable.
A statement issued through a Weinstein spokesman said the 66-year-old film producer, who has denied the allegations, learned of the specific charges and the accusers' identities only after turning himself in Friday.
With a deadline set to testify or not, his request for more time was denied, the statement said.
"Finally, Mr. Weinstein's attorneys noted that regardless of how compelling Mr. Weinstein's personal testimony might be, an indictment was inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction of Mr. Weinstein,'' the statement said, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
Vance said in a statement that the Weinstein camp's "recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable.''
"We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand,'' Vance said.
Weinstein was charged Friday with rape and criminal sex act charges involving two women in New York, as a grand jury continued hearing evidence in the case; the panel has been at work for weeks.
Defendants have the right to testify in a grand jury's secret proceedings but often don't, for various reasons.
Harvey Weinstein has been formally indicted and now faces two charges of rape and a single count of criminal sexual acts.
Reuters reports the charges were those filed last week on Saturday
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said in a statement this morning NZT that "this indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged".
There are two complainants - the first is actress and singer Lucia Evans, who says Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in Tribeca in 2004.
The second has not been identified - she says Weinstein raped her at a hotel in 2013.
Weinstein's lawyer Benjamin Brafman says the second complainant and Weinstein were in face in a 10-year-consensual relationship.
If convicted, Weinstein could be jailed for up to 25 years.
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