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Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty To Rape, Criminal Sex Act Charges
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 5, 2018
Modified Jun 5, 2018
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STEVEN HIRSCH/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 5, 2018
Modified Jun 5, 2018
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After months of silence, Harvey Weinstein uttered, "Not guilty," while entering his plea in NY State Supreme Court this morning. The once powerful movie producer has been charged with rape and criminal sex act stemming from alleged incidents in 2004 and 2013.
His defense attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters after the court appearance, "We begin our fight now... Rape is a reprehensible crime. It is equally reprehensible to be falsely accused of rape. In his view, he has been falsely accused of rape."
Dozens of women (the NY Times says "over 80") have accused Weinstein of sexually harassing, coercing, and/or assaulting them over the decades as he wielded enormous influence in the entertainment business. At the same time he was building a renegade independent production company that released also released critical darlings, like sex, lies, and videotape, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Shakespeare in Love, and The English Patient, Weinstein allegedly arranged hotel room meetings with aspiring and established actresses and models alike under the guise of work meetings.
Some, like Asia Argento and Darryl Hannah, recounted stories of Weinstein storming into their hotel rooms; Argento recounted her harrowing experience of being raped by Weinstein, while Hannah described how, after turning him down, he canceled her press appearances for Kill Bill Vol. 2.
In an interview with the New Yorker, Annabella Sciorra said that Weinstein raped her in her apartment, violently shoving her onto her bed.
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce is now a contributor to ABC News and revealed to the network that investigators interviewed many accusers to build the case against Weinstein: "From all the complaints that were pursued, Boyce said, detectives narrowed the field to seven specific women whose stories both could be confirmed and also met the legal criteria for criminal charges that could be prosecuted in New York. Three of those women have not been identified in media accounts."
A police source also said, “We always expected more people to come forward."
After the NY Times reported on Weinstein's predatory behavior in Hollywood last October, Weinstein accused the newspaper of "reckless reporting" and floated the idea of a $50 million lawsuit against the Times.
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criminal sex act
harvey weinstein
rape
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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