Harvey Weinstein Has Been Charged With More Sex Crimes, the Most Serious Yet
A little over a month ago, we got to see Harvey Weinstein arrested and marched into a police station to be charged with multiple rape charges in New York City. The months-long investigation by the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has yet to cease however, and now Weinstein has been charged with additional sex crimes, two with the potential of life in prison.
Back in late May, the former producer was charged with first-degree and third-degree rape, and first-degree criminal sex act, relating to cases involving two separate women in 2004 and 2013. On Monday, a Manhattan Grand Jury indicted Weinstein on new charges, noting they are “some of the most serious sexual offenses that exist” under the state’s penal law. According to a press release from the D.A. Office those charges include an additional count of criminal sex act in the first-degree “for a forcible sexual act against a third woman in 2006,” and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
It’s worth noting those latter charges are the most serious ones yet for Weinstein. In New York State, predatory sexual assault is a Class A-II felony, which carries a minimum sentence of 10-20 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The sentences for the previous charges Weinstein was indicted on in May are a little less severe in comparison. Rape in the first-degree and a criminal sex act in the first-degree are both Class B felonies with maximum sentences of 25 years, while third-degree rape is punishable in New York state for up to four years in prison.
The Manhattan D.A.’s press release read, “This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward.” It also noted that the Weinstein investigation remains ongoing, urging any potential survivors of Weinstein’s abuse to contact them:
Our investigation continues. If you are a survivor of the predatory abuse with which Mr. Weinstein is charged, there is still time to pursue justice. Please call us at 212-335-9373.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty to the original set of charges from late June, but his lawyer has yet to comment on the latest charges. The former head of The Weinstein Company has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 80 women since the first allegations broke last fall. He’s also being investigated in Los Angeles and London for additional sex crime allegations. No trial date has been set for the New York indictments yet.