Harvey Weinstein's UK indecent assault charges dropped before NYC retrial
Published in News & Features
The U.K. has dropped indecent assault charges against Harvey Weinstein, just months after the disgraced producer’s 2020 New York City rape conviction was overturned.
The Crown Prosecution Service is no longer pursuing the two charges a woman brought against the 72-year-old Miramax founder in June 2022 — concerning alleged assaults in London in 1996 — due to there no longer being “a realistic prospect of conviction,” Variety reports.
“Following a review of the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein,” said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, per the outlet. “The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuous review and we have decided that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.”
Ferguson said the decision has been explained “to all parties.
“We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met,” continued Ferguson.
Back in April, the State of New York Court of Appeals. overturned the movie tycoon’s 2020 convictions for raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and criminal sex act for assaulting film assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. At the time of the decision, Weinstein was serving a 23-year sentence.
Days later, Manhattan prosecutors vowed to retry its case against the Oscar winner — who was also sentenced to 16 years in prison for his Oct. 2022 Los Angeles conviction of three counts of rape and sexual assault. At the time, it was reported Weinstein would remain in custody in New York and that California was not currently “in a position to extradite” him.
In July, they confirmed Weinstein could face new sexual assault charges during the retrial tentatively set for Nov. 12.
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