Content warning: This article describes sexual assault and abuse. Please take care while reading.
In Sept. 2024, British prosecutors announced that two indecent assault charges filed in 2022 against Harvey Weinstein would be dropped. These are only two of many sexual abuse charges against the disgraced Hollywood producer, who is currently in New York’s Riker’s Island prison awaiting retrial in an unrelated case.
Weinstein’s U.K. indecent assault charges dated from 1996 in London. The victims in the case have not been identified in the press, as per U.K. law. Weinstein, 72, is accused of using his power in Hollywood to compel sexual favors, to commit sexual assault and misconduct, and to force sex acts on actresses and other film industry professionals in Britain and the U.S. throughout his decades-long career.
More than 80 women, including Angelina Jolie, Rose MacGowan, and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Weinstein of similar wrongdoing. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denied any “non-consensual” sex with his accusers.
“No longer a realistic prospect of conviction’’
On Sept. 5, the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released a statement announcing the two indecent assault charges would be dropped because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.” The statement added, in part, “Following a review of the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein … We have explained our decision to all parties.”A CPS spokesperson declined to provide any further details when The New York Times reached out for comment.
The same year the U.K. charges were filed, a California court convicted the once-powerful movie mogul after he was brought down in a wave of sexual assault and related allegations, made public with the #MeT00 movement in 2017.
In 2020, Weinstein was also convicted on related charges and sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York. In April, a New York judge declared Weinstein would get a new trial. The first trial, the judge said, was unfair when it allowed testimony involving allegations unrelated to the case.
After the retrial, Weinstein is expected to begin serving his 16-year prison sentence in California, The Washington Post reported. A California judge previously ruled Weinstein would serve his 16-year sentence after serving time in New York.
Weinstein’s retrial
Harvey Weinstein’s second New York trial was tentatively expected to begin in Nov. 2024. New York prosecutors have said they will seek a new indictment, and that additional women have agreed to testify. “He is anxious to go to trial and prove his innocence,” Weinstein’s defense attorney, Diana Fabi, said. “He is, physically he is not well,” she added, and “that is certainly affecting his mental state, but I think he’s strong,” she said.
Weinstein once ran Miramax, along with his brother Bob Weinstein, a film production company responsible for several hit movies, including Oscar-winners Shakespeare in Love and The English Patient. In 1994, Miramax backed Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, winner of the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017, Weinstein settled with eight women who accused him of unwanted sexual conduct and sexual harassment. Further rape and assault allegations emerged in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and though Weinstein tried to settle with many of the women, he was arrested in 2018.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.