Harvey Weinstein Denies 11 Los Angeles Sex Assault Charges
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty in a courtroom in Los Angeles on Wednesday to all 11 charges of rape and sexual assault against five women in California hotel rooms.
The convicted rapist who is currently serving 23 years in jail has been brought back to the city where he once presided over massive film deals to face more charges that could result in an additional 140 years in prison.
“The not guilty plea is entered,” said Judge Sergio Tapia, after an attorney spoke on behalf of Weinstein, who was present in the courtroom, slumped in a wheelchair and wearing a brown jumpsuit.
Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting five women in Los Angeles including Lauren Young, who alleges the “Pulp Fiction” producer sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013 when she was a 22-year-old aspiring actress.
Young has already appeared as a witness in the New York case that led to Weinstein’s existing conviction, seen as a landmark for the #MeToo movement; which he is appealing at a later date.
The other Los Angeles charges against Weinstein date back as far as 2004. The statute of limitations has expired on further allegations of rape against Weinstein in the film industry capital as far back as 1977.
They follow a similar pattern of Weinstein allegedly attacking women; many aspiring Hollywood stars in hotel rooms around Beverly Hills and west Los Angeles.
