Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Monday to a new indictment that prosecutors drafted to allow “The Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra to testify against the disgraced movie mogul.
Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting two other women, but prosecutors sought to have Sciorra testify at the trial that Weinstein raped her to bolster the two counts of predatory sexual assault that the movie producer faces, which carry terms of up to life in prison.
Citing the revised indictment, New York State Supreme Court Justice James M. Burke orders that Weinstein will now go to trial on Jan. 6.
A judge had ruled earlier that Sciorra couldn’t testify because she hadn’t appeared before the grand jury that indicted Weinstein. So, prosecutors presented the case again to the grand jury to allow for Sciorra’s testimony.
Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in 2013 and forcing a different woman into a sex act in 2006. He has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. He’s free on $1 million bail.
Weinstein and his brother Bob started Miramax in 1979 and gained a reputation for creating edgy and critically acclaimed fare, including “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “Clerks” and “Shakespeare in Love.”
Walt Disney Co. acquired the company in 1993, and it changed hands multiple times since then. The brothers founded Weinstein Co. in 2005. That business went into bankruptcy after sexual assault claims were brought against Harvey Weinstein.
If you or someone you know needs resources or support related to sexual violence, contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 24/7 hotline at 800-871-7741.