Update: (5/25) Weinstein officially turned himself into New York authorities early this morning at approximately 9:25 a.m. He was escorted into Manhattan criminal courtroom AR-1 in handcuffs by a Sgt. Keri Thompson and Detective Nicholas DiGuiadio, who work in NYC’s Special Victims Unit.
Weinstein’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, accompanied him as he stood in front of Judge Kevin McGrath, while lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi announced his charges: first-degree rape and third-degree rape in one case; and first-degree criminal sex act in another.
Illuzzi said that after “months of investigation…this defendant used his money, power and position to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually,” and requested Judge McGrath issue an order of protection for one of the fallen mogul’s victims, who was not identified, reports The New York Times.
The court proceedings didn’t last long, but Weinstein was sans a passport and $1 million after both were handed over to Illuzzi as a condition of bail.
The infamous film producer is now required to wear a monitoring device, and is restricted to the states of New York and Connecticut. Weinstein’s lawyer says he will “move quickly” to have the charges dismissed.
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Harvey Weinstein is reportedly turning himself into authorities on Friday, ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
The disgraced Hollywood executive is expected to be charged for preying on Lucia Evans, who accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex in 2004.
Evans was entering her senior year in college when she met Weinstein at a nightclub, and he invited her to the Miramax office for a daytime meeting. The movie mogul clearly didn’t want to talk too much, because he began pulling her head to his crouch shortly after she arrived.
“I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,'” she told The New Yorker. “I tried to get away, but maybe I didn’t try hard enough. I didn’t want to kick him or fight him.”
Evans alleges that Harvey overpowered her, and she eventually gave up.
There’s no telling if Harvey will be hit with additional charges for the other victims, but it’s a step in the right direction.
