Harvey Weinstein charged with new sex crimes in Los Angeles
Harvey Weinstein is currently on trial in New York facing similar charges.
Harvey Weinstein has been charged with four counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles.
The new charges stem from two women who claim Weinstein attacked them in hotels in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills in 2013, District Attorney Jackie Lacy said during a downtown news conference Monday (Jan. 6) morning.
“We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit crimes against them,” Lacey said in a statement. “I want to commend the victims who have come forward and bravely recounted what happened to them.”
He allegedly raped one of the women in his hotel room in February 2013. The unnamed model and actress, says the first assault took place at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after she met Weinstein at the Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest.
“Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked,” she previously told The Los Angeles Times.
The woman claims she showed Weinstein pictures of her kids as she cried and begged him to go away, but he continued to be aggressive with her.
“He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me,” she said.
In a statement, her attorney David Ring said the woman “has fully cooperated with the LAPD and the D.A.’s office for the past two years. She is thankful for their collective work that has resulted in these criminal charges against Weinstein.”
Since the allegations surfaced, Weinstein’s attorneys have denied that he was at the hotel that night. He is also denying ever being alone with the victim.
Weinstein will be charged with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. In New York, Weinstein has been charged with first-degree rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree rape. He recently reached at $50 million settlement with more than 30 of his accusers.