British police investigating 11 claims of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein spanning decades
British police are investigating 11 allegations of sexual assaults against movie producer Harvey Weinstein that span several decades, sources said Tuesday.
Authorities said the alleged attacks involved seven women and that nine were reported to have occurred on British soil. Three women have stepped forward within the last week, British police said, including one who claimed she was attacked in the early 1990s.
Scotland Yard released details of the probe Tuesday but did not mention Weinstein by name, which is standard procedure in British criminal investigations. Several sources confirmed to The Times that the subject of the investigation is Weinstein.
The sheer number of the allegations makes Britain the epicenter of the criminal investigations into Weinstein. New York police have at least two investigation open, and Los Angeles has one.
A representative for the producer has denied that Weinstein sexually assaulted anyone.
The British investigations began Oct. 11 when a woman came forward and reported that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in the late 1980s in West London. British actress Lysette Anthony later said publicly that she had made the report.
On Oct. 14, another woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted in Westminster in London in 2010 and 2011, and in Camden, a London borough, in 2015. A day later, a a woman alleged to police that she was sexually assaulted in Westminster in 1992, Scotland Yard said.
A fourth woman told British police she was sexually assaulted outside England in the early 1980s. Scotland Yard said it referred that report to the appropriate police agency but did not provide details.
A fifth woman reported to police on Oct. 24 that she was attacked in Westminster in the mid-1990s. Two days later, a sixth woman came to police and claimed she was attacked outside the United Kingdom in 2012 and then in Westminster in 2013 and 2014. British police said they forwarded the 2012 allegation to the relevant police agency.
The seventh woman reported her allegation Saturday, saying she was sexually assaulted in Westminster in 1994, according to Scotland Yard.
Since a New York Times article Oct. 5 first revealed allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein, more than 50 woman have alleged they were sexually harassed or assaulted by the former independent film impresario. Weinstein was fired from his job earlier this month.
Actresses Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, Lucia Evans and Anthony have all publicly stated that they were raped or forced to perform a sex act by Weinstein.
In Los Angeles, police are investigating an Italian model-actress’ accusations of being forced by Weinstein to have sex with him in her hotel room in 2013.
It is the first case related to Weinstein to be reported in Southern California.
At Mr C’s Hotel, the actress told the Times, “he grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do,” she said. “He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”
Weinstein’s representative denied the allegation.
Twitter: @lacrimes
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