FILE - Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, May 29, 2024, in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) – Harvey Weinstein ‘s retrial on sex crimes charges in Manhattan won’t start until at least next year – and his lawyer plans to hire a private investigator to look into a new allegation against the movie mogul that will now be part of the case.
The new details came as Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing.
Weinstein was already facing retrial on two sex crime charges after the state’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year. Then in September, he was hit with a new charge accusing him of another assault. He has pleaded not guilty.
In court on Wednesday, Judge Curtis Farber granted a prosecution request to consolidate both cases and said he’ll decide on a new trial date by Jan. 29, 2025.
The trial had been tentatively scheduled to open on Nov. 12, but Weinstein’s lawyers said they needed more time after the new charge was added, asking for a date in March or April
“We’re going to need some time to investigate the case, hire a private investigator and dig more into discovery,” said Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala.
Prosecutors said they were not opposed to that date, but are prepared to go to trial in January.
Weinstein was convicted on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006, and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. In the new charge, prosecutors say he forced oral sex on a different woman in a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office had argued in court filings that holding separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient” and waste judicial resources. Prosecutors said the cases have significant overlap as they involve similar criminal statutes, witnesses, expert testimony and documentary evidence.
Weinstein’s lawyers had argued in court filings that the cases should remain separate. They said prosecutors are attempting to “expand the scope” of the court-ordered retrial and transform it into “an entirely new proceeding” by including the new charges.
Weinstein has been in custody at the city’s Rikers Island jail complex and has faced numerous health complications while behind bars.
He was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, though his lawyers have appealed.
The sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein turbocharged the #MeToo movement in 2017.
The 72-year-old former producer co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company. He produced films including “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Crying Game.”
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