Harvey Weinstein arrives in Los Angeles to face new accusations of rape and sexual abuse

Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse where one of his rape trials was being held in February 2020.Seth Wenig / AP

Los Angeles authorities reported Tuesday that they have transferred Harvey Weinstein to California to face new charges of rape and sexual abuse against five women in local courts.

His lawyer, Mark Weskerman, has said that the film producer may appear as early as this Wednesday in front of a judge to initiate new legal proceedings for events that occurred between 2004 and 2013 on the West Coast.

The former film producer was sentenced to 23 years in prison in March 2020 in a court in New York and has appealed the decision to reduce his sentence.

His defense is now fighting to delay the trial in California, citing the poor health of Weinstein, 69.

More information

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• The aftermath of the Weinstein case

Weinstein has complained in recent court hearings of having trouble walking on his own. This morning he was picked up from Buffalo prison, northwest of New York, to be transferred to a hospital plane that flew him across the country, according to a spokesman. Weinstein's extradition order was approved on June 15 by Judge Kenneth Case, of Erie County (New York). The judge then rejected a defense motion to avoid the trip and noted that Los Angeles County met all the requirements to carry out the new process. Lawyers for the king of indie cinema had already managed to postpone the extradition to the west for several months thanks to the pandemic. The United States legal system allows a convicted person to be tried in various areas for their crimes.In Weinstein's case, if found guilty again, he would be returned to Buffalo to serve his sentence and then return to California to serve the new sentence.

The first lawsuits against the all-powerful Hollywood producer were made in January 2020. A woman said at the time that she had been raped and another said she had been abused in unrelated incidents that occurred in two days of 2013. New accusations would arrive in the following weeks as The #MeToo movement was gaining strength, which had made Weinstein one of its main targets in search of justice. Later came a new charge of sexual harassment of a victim who aspired to be an actress and who said she had been abused in Beverly Hills hotels in May 2010. By October of that year, similar accusations had been added by women seeking to start a career, among They are an Italian model, and who experienced attacks between 2004 and 2005 and another in 2009 and 2010. Weinstein has denied these accusations.The filmmaker has been accused of various crimes by 90 women. In California, he faces 140 years in prison if found guilty by a jury.

Lauren Young is the only defendant in the Los Angeles case who has made her case public. Young, who testified against the producer at the New York trial, said that in 2013 Weinstein entered her room at the Montage Hotel after a meeting and grabbed her breasts as she masturbated. She fled the room and today she hopes that justice will be served.

Under inter-state extradition rules, Los Angeles prosecutors have just 120 days to start the trial from the first time Weinstein appears in front of a judge, which could happen this Wednesday or Thursday.

“We will fight for Harvey to get the medical care he needs and, of course, to be treated fairly.

Due process, presumption of innocence and a fair trial are still his rights, ”said his public relations manager, Juda Engelmayer, in a statement.

The court proceedings are expected to begin around mid-November.

It will then be the beginning of the fall for Weinstein in the city where he made his name.

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