Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein was indicted on new charges in New York mere days after undergoing emergency heart surgery, according to prosecutors.
“We informed the defense just prior to being present in court this morning … the grand jury has indicted Mr. Weinstein, “ Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said, Deadline reported.
The next court hearing is set for September 18. The filing is currently sealed and the DA plans to consolidate all the charges into a superseding indictment, according to the outlet. The Independent has emailed the DA’s office for more information.
The new charges arrive days after 72-year-old was rushed from Rikers Island on Monday to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan due to “a massive amount of fluid in his lungs”.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Weinstein, told the PA news agency that he was in “stable” condition.
Weinstein was found guilty in 2020 of rape and sexual assault in New York. But his conviction was overturned in April by a state appeals court, which argued the court had made “egregious errors” by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations were not related to the charges at hand.
A retrial has been tenatively scheduled for November 13.
Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for the six women who accused Weinstein, called the decision a “leap backward for the rule of law” and said it could deter future sexual assault survivors from coming forward. “To all victims of sexual assault who are re-traumatised by today’s ruling, I am so sorry,” she told NBC News at the time.
Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala, on the other hand, praised the appeals court decision. “Today’s legal ruling is a great day for America because it instills in us the faith that there is a justice system, that a judge… will say: ‘I don’t care who the defendant is, if it’s a former president of the United States, or the most storied Hollywood producer of our generation. The law applies to everyone,’” Aidala said in April.
Despite his New York conviction being tossed, the Hollywood mogul is still serving a prison sentence in Los Angeles following a separate rape and sexual misconduct conviction. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023.
Weinstein has repeatedly denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He filed an appeal against the California conviction in June.
The new indictment marks the latest in the prolific film producer’s catastrophic fall from grace. Weinstein was once considered one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers, known for his Oscar-winning films including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and Gangs of New York.
This is a developing story.