A Manhattan grand jury voted Wednesday to indict Harvey Weinstein for raping one woman and forcing a sex act on another, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.
The formal charges for the alleged attacks in 2004 and 2013 gives the prosecutor a second shot at trying the pervy producer after raising eyebrows for passing on a groping claim against Weinstein from 2015.
"This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged." District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said.
The ex-Hollywood heavyweight, who surrendered to police last Friday on rape and sex assault charges, turned down the chance to testify before the panel.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, said his client did not have enough time to prepare his testimony.
"We asked the district attorney for more time so that Mr. Weinstein's attorneys could gather the material needed to properly prepare him for his grand jury testimony but that request was denied," Brafman said.
The "Pulp Fiction" producer plans to fight the charges, the lawyer said.
"We remind everyone that an indictment is merely a formal accusation," Brafman said. "Mr. Weinstein intends to enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies. We will soon formally move to dismiss the indictment and if this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr Weinstein to be acquitted."
One alleged victim is former acting student Lucia Evans, who said she was forced to perform oral sex on Weinstein in 2004.
The rape accuser has not been publicly identified, but Brafman said Tuesday that the 2013 incident, which took place at the Doubletree Hotel in Midtown, was not forced.
"Mr. Weinstein is accused of raping someone with whom he has had a 10-year consensual sexual relationship both before and after the alleged incident," the lawyer said.
Harvey Weinstein Indictment News on Scribd
"Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs," he said. "The defendant'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."
Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez told police in 2015 that the maligned mogul grabbed her breasts and tried to kiss her.
She wore a wire and recorded Weinstein talking about it, but the Manhattan DA's office declined to prosecute the case, claiming the tape was inconclusive.
Top prosecutor Karen Freidman-Agnifilo, who is married to a senior attorney in Brafman's firm, blamed police for botching the investigation.
"The seasoned prosecutors in our sex crimes unit were not afforded the opportunity before the meeting to counsel investigators on what was necessary to capture in order to prove a misdemeanor sex crime," Friedman-Agnifilo said after the recording surfaced late last year.
After the portly pervert's first court appearance, Brafman blamed a shift in Hollywood culture — from one in which starlets plied powerful producers with sex in exchange for big roles, to the current #METOO movement.
"Mr. Weinstein did not invent the casting couch," Brafman said.
After the indictment was unsealed, Evans' lawyer addressed the dodgy defense.
"What Mr. Weinstein's attorneys call casting couch behavior we know is actually a sex crime," the attorney said. "A 'movement' doesn't indict. A grand jury does."
The formal charges for the alleged attacks in 2004 and 2013 gives the prosecutor a second shot at trying the pervy producer after raising eyebrows for passing on a groping claim against Weinstein from 2015.
"This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged." District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said.
The ex-Hollywood heavyweight, who surrendered to police last Friday on rape and sex assault charges, turned down the chance to testify before the panel.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, said his client did not have enough time to prepare his testimony.
"We asked the district attorney for more time so that Mr. Weinstein's attorneys could gather the material needed to properly prepare him for his grand jury testimony but that request was denied," Brafman said.
The "Pulp Fiction" producer plans to fight the charges, the lawyer said.
"We remind everyone that an indictment is merely a formal accusation," Brafman said. "Mr. Weinstein intends to enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously defend against these unsupported allegations that he strongly denies. We will soon formally move to dismiss the indictment and if this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr Weinstein to be acquitted."
One alleged victim is former acting student Lucia Evans, who said she was forced to perform oral sex on Weinstein in 2004.
The rape accuser has not been publicly identified, but Brafman said Tuesday that the 2013 incident, which took place at the Doubletree Hotel in Midtown, was not forced.
"Mr. Weinstein is accused of raping someone with whom he has had a 10-year consensual sexual relationship both before and after the alleged incident," the lawyer said.
Harvey Weinstein Indictment News on Scribd
Harvey Weinstein Indictment by New York Daily News on Scribd
After the indictment was announced, Vance slammed Brafman for the claim."Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs," he said. "The defendant'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."
Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez told police in 2015 that the maligned mogul grabbed her breasts and tried to kiss her.
She wore a wire and recorded Weinstein talking about it, but the Manhattan DA's office declined to prosecute the case, claiming the tape was inconclusive.
Top prosecutor Karen Freidman-Agnifilo, who is married to a senior attorney in Brafman's firm, blamed police for botching the investigation.
"The seasoned prosecutors in our sex crimes unit were not afforded the opportunity before the meeting to counsel investigators on what was necessary to capture in order to prove a misdemeanor sex crime," Friedman-Agnifilo said after the recording surfaced late last year.
After the portly pervert's first court appearance, Brafman blamed a shift in Hollywood culture — from one in which starlets plied powerful producers with sex in exchange for big roles, to the current #METOO movement.
"Mr. Weinstein did not invent the casting couch," Brafman said.
After the indictment was unsealed, Evans' lawyer addressed the dodgy defense.
"What Mr. Weinstein's attorneys call casting couch behavior we know is actually a sex crime," the attorney said. "A 'movement' doesn't indict. A grand jury does."
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