By Jennifer Coglin
Los Angeles prosecutors have charged imprisoned former film producer Harvey Weinstein, 68, with an additional count of felony sexual battery by restraint, according to an AP report.
Last month, the disgraced filmmaker was sentenced to 23 years behind bars in a Manhattan courtroom. Weinstein protested the decision and was subsequently hospitalized for health related issues.
The Los Angeles county district attorney, Jackie Lacey, said the charge was filed over allegations the former movie mogul sexually assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010. The woman was initially interviewed by detectives as a corroborating witness but recently provided details showing her alleged assault occurred within the 10-year statute of limitations, according to an AP report.
In January, Weinstein was charged with one felony count of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint, according to a NY Times report. This was related to charges stemming from accusations made against him by an actress who claimed that Weinstein had raped her as well as an Italian model.
In the last several years, a number of women in Hollywood had accused Weinstein of sexually inappropriate conduct. His name has become associated with the #MeToo movement comprised of women who also allege that they were sexually abused and harassed by powerful men in the entertainment industry.
Recently, former NBC investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposed how such men were protected by the industry in a blockbuster book called “Catch and Kill.”
AP reported that the charge has been added to a Los Angeles case that alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted two women in separate incidents in 2013. Weinstein was convicted in February. He recently overcame a bout with coronavirus. It is unknown when he will be transported to face the charges in Los Angeles, as was reported by the AP.
Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday said they are declining to prosecute two other cases involving Weinstein because the women did not want to testify against him, as was reported by AP. Both alleged victims are described in a document as actresses, and one testified against Weinstein at his New York trial.
Lacey said investigators continue to work to strengthen their case against Weinstein. “As we gather corroborating evidence, we have reached out to other possible sexual assault victims,” she said in a statement. “If we find new evidence of a previously unreported crime, as we did here, we will investigate and determine whether additional criminal charges should be filed.”
A spokesman for Weinstein had no immediate comment on the new charge.
Weinstein, the Oscar-winning producer of “Shakespeare in Love,” was convicted of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. His lawyers have said they’ll appeal his prison sentence.
