Harvey Weinstein will be charged with indecent assault in the UK
The disgraced producer's charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred in London in 1996
Aux News Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein is facing even more charges after the UK’s Crown Protection Services (CPS) handed down two counts of indecent assault stemming from an alleged 1996 incident in London, Deadline reports.
CPS moved forward with the charges after the Metropolitan Police reviewed evidence. The CPS announced its decision alongside an advisory “reminding all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”
The Guardian reports that the two alleged incidents occurred between July 31 and August 31, 1996. The alleged victim is now in her 50s.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison back in 2020. Since those bombshell 2017 articles in the New York Times and the New Yorker first shed light on decades of swirling allegations against Weinstein, more than 100 women have accused him of sexual harassment or assault.
Last week, Weinstein lost an appeal in New York to overturn his charges. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that his case warranted re-examination due to judging errors that favored the prosecution. The five-judge appellate panel upheld Weinstein’s conviction and sentence.
“While we acknowledge the sheer size of the impeachment material that the court allowed, we have analyzed that decision within the larger context of all of the circumstances presented by this case, and have concluded that the court providently exercised its discretion,” Justice Angela Mazzarelli wrote on behalf of the court.
The once-invincible Miramax co-founder’s fall from grace was at the center of the explosive #MeToo movement, which caused an upending of workplace silence that saw high-powered Hollywood men like Bryan Singer, Matt Lauer and Kevin Spacey publicly accused of predatory behavior. Spacey himself just received four sexual assault charges (and one additional charge) in the UK last week.
Weinstein is currently serving his sentence in Los Angeles while he awaits the beginning of his West Coast trial.
9 Comments
May karma continue to fuck this guy, may justice be served, and may his victims find peace.
If he’s already been convicted and is going to be in jail for 20+ more years, into his 90s, what does this really do? Asking for real as I genuinely don’t know.
It’s an attempt (at least) to provide justice for victims not represented in previous trials. Women should not be expected to heal after they have been violated just because a man is in prison for violating another woman; any more than a man robbed of his life savings should be happy that the thief is in prison for stealing elsewhere. In fact, I can’t imagine most men being ok with that kind of personal sacrifice.
The analogy kind of makes sense, kind of doesn’t. In the example you gave, the person who lost their savings is likely more interested in recouping their lost savings than seeing someone in jail. If the same is true here, that this conviction opens up the ability to sue in a civil court setting, it makes sense. If it’s just about tacking on even more jail time that Weinstein never sees (if they can even get him to the UK to appear in court assuming that is a prerequisite) because he might be dead already by that point, that’s where I’m a bit puzzled.
I suppose it could be a largely symbolic gesture. I think most humans lead symbolic lives.
It tarnishes his legacy, which it should. I’m not opposed to separating the art from the artist, but he’s a monster and that shouldn’t be forgotten. Also, for the alleged victim hopefully it will make her feel seen and a bit vindicated.
His legacy is already tarnished. There’s nothing really left to be done on that front.
I think it’s less about the literal time he can serve in prison and more about there being a legal accounting of his crimes. Survivors deserve their day in court, and for there to be a record of what happened to them, otherwise their stories can be brushed off as “allegations” and “rumours”.
I hope they transport him to the UK in some Con-Air type airplane. That would be so funny to see this deflated raisin of a man in a cage.