Harvey Weinstein being investigated for
additional sex assaults
Prosecutors are probing “additional violent sexual assaults” they say former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein committed and intend to seek a new indictment after his previous conviction was overturned, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said in a hearing before Judge Curtis Farber in New York state criminal court in Manhattan that the additional assaults Weinstein allegedly committed were still within the statute of limitations to be charged as crimes.
Weinstein was found guilty on rape allegations in 2020 in a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.
A jury found the 72-year-old Miramax film studio co-founder sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
But the New York Court of Appeals in April found that Judge James Burke, who presided over the trial, made a critical mistake by allowing three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not part of the criminal charges against him.
The court said that testimony about “prior bad acts” violated his right to a fair trial.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual encounters with anyone. Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, said on Tuesday it was unfair for prosecutors to seek to add additional victims to the case after the conviction was overturned.
“Once again we have a hotline: ‘1-800 Get Harvey,'” Aidala said in court.
Weinstein is suffering from a host of medical problems while being held in solitary confinement at New York City’s Rikers Island jail, Aidala said. He accused prosecutors of using delay tactics to keep Weinstein incarcerated, which Blumberg denied.
“As we said in 2020, there were women who were not ready to proceed with the legal process. Some of those women are now ready to proceed,” Blumberg said.
Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years following a separate rape trial in California. The two sentences cannot be served concurrently.
Miramax’s hit movies included “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.” Weinstein’s own eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.
–Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot
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Two French rugby players arrested in Argentina
over sexual assault allegations
France’s national rugby team was hit by another scandal when two unidentified players were arrested in Argentina over sexual assault allegations. The team, currently on a South American tour, lost its full-back, Melvyn Jaminet, earlier this week after he was suspended for posting racist comments on social media.
Issued on:
Two members of France's international rugby team touring South America were arrested in Argentina on Monday following an allegation of sexual assault, a justice official in Mendoza province told AFP.
The two unidentified players, who featured in France's 28-13 Test victory over Argentina on Saturday, will be taken from Buenos Aires to Mendoza, where the crime is alleged to have taken place, Martin Ahumanda, a spokesman for the Mendoza's prosecutor's office, told AFP.
According to local media reports, the alleged attack took place at the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza, where France's players and staff were staying for last weekend's Test match.
Local prosecutors requested the immediate arrest of the two players following the allegation.
France are due to travel to Montevideo on Tuesday where they face a game against Uruguay on Wednesday. The team is then due to return to Buenos Aires for a second Test against Argentina on Saturday.
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
The arrests come a day after a racism scandal that saw France fullback Melvyn Jaminet ousted from the squad in Argentina.
Jaminet was removed from the team after video of him making racist comments emerged on social media. "I promise, the first Arab I see on the road, I'll headbutt him," Jaminet is filmed as saying in the Instagram video.
Toulon's Jaminet played seven minutes and kicked a penalty in France's first Test win over the Pumas on Saturday.
Jaminet subsequently apologised for his remarks after being booted out of the squad. "I am deeply sorry and ashamed of my comments," Jaminet said on Instagram. "Racism, in all its forms, is unacceptable and goes against everything I believe in.
"I understand the FFR's punishment and remain at their disposition to be able to shine a light on this incident."
(AFP)
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