| Law enforcement officers usher a handcuffed Harvey Weinstein into the courthouse for his arraignment in Manhattan on Friday. Steven Ferdman/Getty Images |
The 66-year-old disgraced producer – who has been accused of sexual harassment by dozens of women in recent months – was taken to court in New York over charges alleging that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex on him.
And after insisting he wouldn’t testify before a grand jury, that same jury has voted to indict – which means they have formally charged him – with first- and third-degree rape, and a first-degree criminal sexual act.
The charges are the same as the ones that were filed by police last week when Weinstein turned himself in to face arrest after arriving in New York.
DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement: “This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged.”
Vance revealed that an investigation into Weinstein’s alleged crimes “remains active and ongoing”, and slammed what he described as Weinstein’s “recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process.”
He added: “We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand.”
Upon hearing the grand jury’s verdict, Weinstein’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman revealed the producer intends on pleading not guilty to all charges.
In a statement, he said: “[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.”
Over 60 women – including Cara Delevingne, Eva Green, Daryl Hannah, Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kate Beckinsale – have come forward to make allegations against Weinstein since the New York Times and New Yorker’s exposes in October, which documented decades of alleged sexual misconduct.
The producer has largely retreated from the public eye since the allegations were made but has denied many of the claims.
His spokesperson previously said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”