Harvey Weinstein will remain locked up in New York while awaiting rape retrial
Harvey Weinstein will remain in custody in New York while awaiting retrial on rape and sexual assault charges in Manhattan, prosecutors confirmed Monday as the former movie mogul made a brief court appearance related to California’s request to extradite him there.
But after the New York case is complete, he will return to California to serve his pending 16-year sentence for a separate rape conviction there first, Queens Dist. Atty. Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“Today, defendant Harvey Weinstein was formally arraigned on a governor’s warrant issued by Governor Kathy Hochul, who exercised her authority for him to remain in New York State until his case in New York County is adjudicated,” Katz said. “He will serve the California sentence first, as it is now his primary sentence.”
Weinstein, who has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while serving a 23-year sentence in New York. His 2020 conviction in Manhattan was thrown out this spring by the state’s top court, which ruled that the judge in the original trial unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Last October, actress Julia Ormond sued Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery and claimed her former agency CAA, Miramax and the Walt Disney Co. enabled the disgraced mogul. A judge just denied all three parties’ motion to dismiss the case.
The retrial in Manhattan is tentatively scheduled for November.
The 72-year-old Weinstein, with one hand cuffed to his wheelchair and another grasping a book and a magazine, appeared in Queens criminal court for less than five minutes Monday as his lawyers agreed that he will remain at the nearby Rikers Island jail complex. Weinstein has returned there after being hospitalized last month for health problems including COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs.
The extradition matter has been taking place in Queens, rather than Manhattan, court due to its proximity to Rikers Island.
Prosecutors in Manhattan said last month that they aim to bring new sexual assault charges against Weinstein but haven’t given more details, nor a timeline for bringing the potential new charges.
Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala suggested at the time that prosecutors’ talk of new accusers raised questions about the strength of their current case.
Attanasio writes for the Associated Press.
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