- Prosecutors in Los Angeles brought four new charges against Harvey Weinstein, bringing a new set of legal proceedings against the former movie producer.
- The indictment from the Los Angeles district attorney's office lists four total felony counts against Weinstein, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force, and sexual battery by restraint.
- The complaint identifies two separate incidents that occurred within Los Angeles hotel rooms within one day of each other that were brought to authorities in 2017.
- Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey plans for the case to proceed after Weinstein's trial in New York, which began hours before her office filed the indictment.
- Weinstein is pleading not guilty in the New York case, and has denied sexual misconduct occurred, or said it was consensual.
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Prosecutors in Los Angeles issued an indictment on Monday afternoon that brought four new charges against Harvey Weinstein.
The indictment released by the Los Angeles District Attorney's office announced four total felony counts against Weinstein: forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force, and sexual battery by restraint.
The indictment maps out two separate incidents in February 2013, accusing Weinstein of sexually assaulting two different women in hotel rooms within one day of each other.
"We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit violent crimes against them," Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in the indictment. "I want to commend the victims who have come forward and bravely recounted what happened to them. It is my hope that all victims of sexual violence find strength and healing as they move forward."
In a press conference announcing the charges, Lacey said prosecutors evaluated allegations from eight women who came forward, three of which fell outside the state's statute of limitations. Overall, Lacey said 40 potential cases were brought before her office for review. She said she turned most down because of statute of limitations guidelines or insufficient evidence.
Lacey said her office was still looking at allegations from three other women that could result in other potential charges.
The complaint also says Weinstein faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted on the charges, and prosecutors are recommended bail be set at $5 million.
Weinstein may stand trial in Los Angeles after his New York case wraps up
The charges were revealed within hours of Weinstein's first appearance to begin his trial in a Manhattan court for charges including rape and sexual misconduct, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The court proceedings in New York are centered on accusations that Weinstein raped an unidentified woman in 2013 and forced another woman, Mimi Haleyi, to allow him to perform oral sex on her in 2006. Judge James Burke said Monday morning that the proceedings could take up to two months.
In her press conference, Lacey said the case in Los Angeles would proceed once Weinstein's trial in New York had finished.
More than 80 women have come forward with allegations against Weinstein that date back to the 1970s and accuse him of misconduct ranging from forcible groping to rape. But just four women's accusations have resulted in criminal charges — two in New York and two in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments each brought four investigations to prosecutors, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The indictment is the latest from a task force Lacey created nearly two years ago to take action in the wake of the #MeToo movement that exposed a world of stifled and ignored sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein and a spate of other powerful figures in Hollywood, including actor Kevin Spacey and former CBS CEO Les Moonves.
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