Manhattan prosecutors told a New York judge on Wednesday they are reviewing further allegations of sexual misconduct against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and may seek new charges against him ahead of his scheduled retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said during the court hearing that more people have come forward with assault allegations and prosecutors are now evaluating which cases fall under the statute of limitations.
Bloomberg said some potential victims who were not prepared to testify during Weinstein’s first trial in New York might now be willing to do so.
Asked by Judge Curtis Farber if prosecutors might file new charges, Blumberg replied, “Yes, your judge.”
Bloomberg said prosecutors would be in a position to inform the court on the direction of the case by the end of June.
Judge Farber set the next hearing date for July 9. The retrial on the rape charge is tentatively scheduled for after Labor Day in September of this year.
Weinstein appeared before a judge on Wednesday afternoon in the New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump is on trial, as jurors in his criminal case began reaching their verdict.
Weinstein is awaiting retrial on rape charges after his 2020 conviction was overturned in April. Wednesday’s court hearing was held to address various legal issues related to his upcoming trial.
Weinstein’s original trial took place in the same courtroom where Trump is now on trial, but the two men never ran into each other: Weinstein was in custody and escorted to court by security, and in a courtroom on a different floor from the one where Trump is on trial.
Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape for assaulting aspiring actress Jessica Mann and sexually assaulting former television and film production assistant Miriam Haley.
The New York State Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that the judge had improperly allowed testimony against the defendant based on allegations from other women unrelated to the case.
Weinstein, 72, has maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
The New York ruling reopened a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful people. The #MeToo era began with a flood of allegations against Weinstein in 2017, and leaders of the movement said it will continue.
Last week, prosecutors asked Judge Farber to warn Weinstein’s defense team not to discuss potential witnesses in public or smear them ahead of the retrial.
Weinstein, who was serving a 23-year sentence in New York, was convicted of a separate rape charge in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison in California.
