New York (AFP)
Fallen film producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been indicted in New York for two sexual assaults, will return to court on Monday to be informed of a new indictment against him, the New York prosecutor's office said on Friday.
A spokesman for the prosecutor declined comment, pending Monday's appearance, on the content of this new indictment against the former producer who catalyzed the #MeToo movement.
He added, however, that the trial, scheduled to begin on 9 September at the Manhattan court, was scheduled for that date. This suggests that the new act does not contain new charges.
Harvey Weinstein, 67, has been charged since October 2017 with sexual abuse ranging from harassment to rape by more than 80 women, including many celebrities.
But he was charged with two assaults only in New York, on two different women, one for a rape in 2013 and the other for a forced fellatio in 2006.
Last week, a Weinstein lawyer confirmed that the prosecutor had asked a grand jury to validate a new indictment against Mr. Weinstein, to include the allegations of a third woman.
According to several American media, it would be Annabella Sciorra, known for its role in the television series "The Sopranos".
Now 59, she accused Harvey Weinstein, in an interview with the New Yorker in late October 2017, of raping her at home in the early 1990s.
The lawyer, Damon Cheronis, had pointed out that the addition at the last minute in the indictment of today's alleged allegations would be "unconstitutional".
He added that the defense would ask for the prosecution to be dropped if the new indictment were validated. What the announcement of Monday's hearing seems to confirm.
The defense has also appealed the change of scenery on the grounds that the whole case has been hyped to excess in New York, including the tabloid New York Post.
A decision on this motion, filed before a New York Court of Appeal, could also intervene Monday.
© 2019 AFP