Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty to Additional Sexual Assault Charges

He was charged with an additional count of criminal sexual act, as well as two counts of predatory sexual assault

Harvey Weinstein was arraigned in New York on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to his latest sexual assault charges.

The disgraced movie producer entered the courtroom handcuffed and was escorted by two New York Police Department detectives. After the prosecutor argued for a change in Weinstein's bail conditions, the judge ruled to keep them the same.

"We are very pleased the the court did not exchange the existing bail conditions that Mr. Weinstein has scrupulously abided by," said his attorney Benjamin Brafman. "The case has not grown stronger for the prosecution. Indeed, since his arrest in May, his defense has grown substantially stronger as we have found overwhelming corroboration well beyond Mr. Weinstein's assertions that support his claim that all sexual encounters were consensual and that he did not rape anyone."

Earlier this month, a grand jury charged Weinstein with an additional count of criminal sexual act in the first degree for a forcible sexual act against a third woman in 2006. He was also charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault—a Class A felony that carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. 

At the time, Braftman stated his client's intent to plead not guilty to the new charges.

"Mr. Weinstein maintains that all of these allegations are false and he expects to be fully vindicated," Brafman said earlier this month. "Furthermore, to charge Mr. Weinstein as a predator when the interactions were each consensual is simply not justified."

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. also said the indictment was "the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward." He then encouraged other survivors to speak out.

The charges are in addition to the accusations Weinstein faced during his last court appearance. In May, he was indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, as well as criminal sexual act in the first degree, for forcible sexual acts against two women, which allegedly took place in 2013 and 2004, respectively. 

According to The New York Times, Weinstein paid a $1 million bail and surrendered his passport.

After today's arraignment, Brafman told reporters he's anticipating the possibility of more charges being brought forward.

"We are not bracing ourselves,"  he told the press on Monday. "We anticipate based on what the prosecutor has said that there may be more charges. My guess would be that they came with the most serious charges that they could find first. That would be my expectation. If there's more we will deal with them when they come."

Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. A few of the accusations came to light in an October 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé by The New York Times, as well as in another Pulitzer Prize-winning report by The New Yorker.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.