Disgraced Hollywood film executive Harvey Weinstein has been charged with further sexual offenses in New York.
A number of victims are ready to provide testimony against Weinstein, 72, revealed assistant district attorney Nicole Blumberg during a court session on Thursday.
Nonetheless, specifics of the indictment will be withheld until he faces arraignment on the new charges, which could take place as soon as 18 September.
“We are unaware of any details,” stated Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, outside the courtroom.
“We lack knowledge regarding the precise allegations, the specific locations, and the timeline.”
This indictment follows shortly after Weinstein underwent urgent heart surgery in a Manhattan hospital to alleviate fluid buildup around his heart and lungs.
He is currently recuperating at Bellevue Hospital in New York and did not attend the hearing on Thursday.
Weinstein is anticipating a significant retrial regarding his 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault involving two women, a ruling overturned by New York’s highest court last April.
The retrial is preliminarily set to commence on 12 November.
Last week, prosecutors involved in the retrial disclosed that they have started presenting evidence to a grand jury concerning up to three new accusations against him, originating from the mid-2000s.
However, it remains unclear if the new charges pertain to any of these additional accusations.
Prosecutors have indicated their intention to merge any new charges with the previously filed ones for a joint trial.
Conversely, Weinstein’s defense team has accused the prosecution of attempting to strengthen their initial case with fresh charges involving other accusers, asserting they would not be prepared to proceed to trial in November regarding new allegations.
Meanwhile, UK prosecutors announced last week that they are dropping two counts of indecent assault against Weinstein filed in 2022 due to the “lack of a realistic chance for conviction”.
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Allegations from women regarding his purported conduct began surfacing during the #MeToo movement in 2017.
Weinstein has consistently maintained that all sexual interactions were consensual.
He was serving a 23-year prison term at the time his conviction was overturned.
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In 2022, he was convicted in LA of a separate rape case. His 16-year sentence from that incident remains intact, but his lawyers filed an appeal against that ruling in June, alleging he did not receive a fair trial.
A judge on Thursday approved a defense motion allowing him to remain at Bellevue Hospital indefinitely after his heart surgery instead of returning to New York’s Rikers Island jail facility.
Weinstein—who co-founded film and television production entities Miramax and The Weinstein Company—was once considered one of the most influential figures in Hollywood, producing acclaimed films such as Pulp Fiction and The Crying Game.
