The Manhattan district attorney’s office has begun presenting evidence to a grand jury that could return a new indictment against Harvey Weinstein – as soon as Friday – over an alleged sexual assault that occurred sometime in a four-month time period between late 2005 and mid-2006 in a lower Manhattan residential building, according to a transcript of an unannounced court hearing this week.
Prosecutors also indicated during a hearing on Tuesday they were aware of two other potential offenses: a sexual assault in May 2016 in a hotel in Tribeca and a potential sexual assault that occurred at the Tribeca Grand hotel.
In this July 9, 2024, file photo, Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York.
Pool via Getty Images, FILE
Providing notice to the defense of potential offenses does not guarantee what charges a new indictment might contain. The grand jury’s term is scheduled to end Friday, at which point prosecutors could put potential charges to a vote.
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA’s office declined to comment.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, signaled during the hearing that Weinstein could testify himself before the grand jury.
“Mr. Weinstein is very, very seriously considering going — wheeling himself into the grand jury and letting the grand jurors see what he looks like these days,” Aidala said, according to the transcript.
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and has said his sexual encounters were consensual.
The New York Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 opinion, overturned his 2020 rape conviction. He remains held at Rikers Island while he appeals a conviction in Los Angeles.
The Manhattan DA’s office signaled this summer it would retry Weinstein and prosecutors revealed they had spoken to other alleged victims whose accounts were not part of the original case.
The trial is tentatively scheduled for this fall.
Source: abc news
