Former Hollywood star producer Harvey Weinstein was dismissed Thursday, July 29, by a Los Angeles judge over his request to dismiss two counts of sexual assault on a woman.
Mr Weinstein, already convicted of rape in New York, was transferred last week to California, where he served as kingmaker of the cinema before his disgrace but where he now appears in court, accused of rape and assault sex by five women.
The judge in charge of the case rejected the defense lawyers’ assertion that acts of rape and forced oral sex, which allegedly took place in a hotel room between 2004 and 2005, fell under statute of limitations . The magistrate, however, upheld a defense request concerning a charge of sexual assault against another woman in 2010, ordering prosecutors to change their charge so that the prosecution can take its course.
Producer’s lawyer Mark Werksman told reporters outside the court after the hearing that“A fifth of the prosecution file had been eviscerated”. A preliminary hearing in the case has been set for September 13.
Already serving a twenty-three-year prison sentence
69-year-old Harvey Weinstein is already serving a twenty-three-year prison sentence in New York. The producer of Shakespeare in Love and pulp Fiction has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges he faces in Los Angeles. In the event of conviction, he could see a sentence of 140 years in prison added to the existing one.
Charges of harassment and sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein came to light in 2017, and are at the origin of the global #metoo movement. In total, nearly 90 women including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek have accused Mr. Weinstein of harassment or assault. According to the latter, all his sexual relations were consensual.
His lawyers had tried to block the transfer to Los Angeles on medical grounds, and a judge authorized a new medical examination of Mr. Weinstein. Last week, Mark Werksman told reporters that his client, who attended the two hearings in Los Angeles in a wheelchair, was unable to walk because of a spinal problem.