Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty in New York court to new sex crime charge

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein appeared in a New York courtroom on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to one count of a criminal sex act in the 1st degree.

The new charges were announced last week, but the indictment was sealed until the 72-year-old disgraced Hollywood mogul could be medically cleared to attend the arraignment. He was unable to attend the initial court hearing, because he was at Bellevue Hospital recovering from emergency heart and lung surgery.

Weinstein is currently awaiting retrial in his overturned 2020 rape conviction. Pertaining to the new charge, prosecutors filed a motion to consolidate, saying separate trials would be burdensome and wasteful.

Weinstein is due back in court on Oct. 2 for the judge’s decision on motion to consolidate.

Weinstein indicted on new charges in New York 

Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said last week all he knew about the new charges is that they could include up to three additional allegations dating to 2005. 

Accuser Jessica Mann, who testified during the first trial, released a statement after last week’s hearing, saying in part, “This decision once again shows that people who abuse their position of power cannot avoid justice; only at times delay it with means such as wealth, fame, and connections.”

Weinstein’s 2020 conviction overturned

Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence following his 2020 conviction for sexually assaulting an assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actor in 2013.

His conviction was thrown out this spring after the state’s top court ruled the judge in the original trial unfairly allowed testimony about other allegations that were not a part of the case. 

A retrial date has been set for Nov. 12, but Weinstein’s defense pushed back, saying, “ethically, we cannot be ready.”

“He’s not well. I mean, I know lawyers sometimes are known for exaggeration. I can’t exaggerate a heart operation. I can’t exaggerate a lung operation. He was in the Intensive Care Unit,” Aidala said.

Once the New York case is complete, Weinstein is expected to return to California to serve his pending 16-year sentence for a separate rape conviction.