|
 Weinstein, the 66-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio
and the Weinstein Co, intends to plead not guilty to the
charges, his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters outside
the Manhattan courthouse.
Prosecutors charged him with two counts of rape and one count of
a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation with
the New York Police Department. They did not identify the two
women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If
convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face
between five and 25 years in prison.
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70
women, with some of the allegations dating back decades. He has
denied ever having nonconsensual sex.
The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times
and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which
hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in
business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct.
"This defendant used his position, money and power to lure young
women into situations where he was able to violate them
sexually," prosecutor Joan Illuzzi said at Weinstein's
arraignment on Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Weinstein, wearing a dark jacket over a blue sweater and white
open-collared shirt and dark jeans, appeared pale, and stood
next to Brafman, staring into the middle distance with his mouth
ajar while prosecutors described a bail agreement.
Judge Kevin McGrath ordered Weinstein released on $1 million
cash bail and the case was adjourned to July 30. Weinstein
surrendered his U.S. passport and agreed to wear a monitoring
device that tracks his location, confining him to the states of
New York and Connecticut.
Weinstein earlier turned himself in at a lower Manhattan police
station around 7:25 a.m. EDT (1125 GMT). He carried thick books
under his right arm, including biographies of Broadway musical
duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and Elia Kazan,
the director of "A Streetcar Named Desire" and other classic
Hollywood films.
About 90 minutes later, Weinstein was led by officers into court
in handcuffs, grimacing, with his head bowed and his books
nowhere in sight.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Brafman signaled he
would defend Weinstein by undermining the credibility of his
client's accusers.
A jury would not believe the women, Brafman said, "assuming we
get 12 fair people who are not consumed by the movement that
seems to have overtaken this case."
SURREAL
Actress Rose McGowan, among the first to accuse Weinstein of
sexual assault, said seeing images of him in handcuffs was
surreal.
"I actually did not believe this day would come," she said on
NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" program. "This is a big strike into
the heart of abuse of power."
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After the accusations became public, entertainment industry
heavyweights distanced themselves from Weinstein. The Weinstein Co's
board fired him, and the company filed for bankruptcy in March.
In 2017, Weinstein was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences. He had racked up Oscars for a string of films
that helped define independent cinema in the 1990s, including
"Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction."
Weinstein was a fixture of elite Manhattan and Los Angeles society
until his accusers came forward. He sought treatment for sex
addiction at a facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, the New York Times
reported.
London's Metropolitan Police and Los Angeles prosecutors have said
they are reviewing accusations of sexual assault against him.
Brafman said in a May court filing that federal prosecutors in New
York had opened a separate criminal investigation into the
allegations.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. had been under pressure
over his 2015 decision not to pursue a complaint by model Ambra
Battilana Gutierrez, who said Weinstein had groped her without her
consent.
Vance made the decision even though he had a covert police recording
of Weinstein telling Gutierrez he would not do it again. The
district attorney said his decision was based on the merits of the
case.
Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter ordering
the state attorney general to investigate how Vance and the NYPD
handled sexual assault allegations, including the 2015 accusations
against Weinstein.
The New York charges mark the second high-profile prosecution of a
once-powerful show business personality in the #MeToo era.
A month ago, Bill Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually
assaulting a onetime friend, one of dozens of women who have accused
the comedian and former TV star of sexual misconduct.
Cosby's conviction followed a mistrial last year on the same
charges. In the retrial, the judge allowed five other accusers to
tell similar stories of alleged abuse at his hands.
It was unclear whether New York prosecutors would seek to have other
Weinstein accusers testify against him.
Other actresses who have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual
misconduct include Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien, Peter Szekely, Jonathan
Allen and Nathan Layne in New York; Writing by Jonathan Allen;
Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis)
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