Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul serving 23 years in New York prison for sex crimes, was charged with six counts of sexual assault on Friday stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred with two women over a decade ago in Los Angeles.
Under the new charges, Weinstein is accused of raping a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and September 2005. He is also accused of raping a different woman, on two occasions, in November of 2009 and November of 2010.
According to Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, the new charges against Weinstein have been added to the active case that was publicly unveiled back on January 6, 2020, the first day of his high-profile New York City trial.
“I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward,” said Lacey in a statement Friday. “The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case.”
Weinstein now faces eleven counts in connection with five different accusers, including four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, and one count of sexual penetration by the use of force. The alleged incidents’ occurred between 2004 and 2013.
While he is currently serving time in New York, Weinstein is scheduled for an extradition hearing in mid-December, when authorities will seek temporary custody of him so that he can stand trial in Los Angeles. He faces up to 140 years in state prison if found guilty on all counts.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said the former movie mogul has “always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn’t changed.”
“At this moment, we cannot comment on the additional charges until we learn more about them,” added the spokesperson.
According to The New York Times, when Weinstein was found guilty on two felony sex crimes — but acquitted of three, including the most serious charges — he repeatedly uttered to his attorney’s “but I’m innocent.” Weinstein was later taken away to the hospital in an ambulance before getting sent to jail.
“It’s absolutely horrible for me to watch my client taken into custody,” said Donna Rotunno, the lead defense attorney in the case, after the verdict, reports the news agency. “Harvey is very strong. He took it like a man. He knows this is not over.”
Many of Weinstein’s accusers celebrated the guilty verdict.
Ashley Judd, the first actress to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, told The New York Times: “This is the way it’s supposed to be.”
According to The Guardian, Rose McGowan, another Weinstein accuser, had a different view: “I probably am not going to be free of him until he’s dead or I’m dead.”