NEW YORK CITY: Harvey Weinstein could be retried on rape charges in Manhattan on November 12 after a judge set a tentative trial date at a Friday court hearing.

Judge Curtis Farber said he was also open to an earlier start date in September depending on how pretrial discovery plays out. Weinstein’s lawyers say they want to proceed as soon as possible.

Weinstein, 72, has denied wrongdoing and has denied having any non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone. Jurors in Manhattan found him guilty on rape charges in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction in April, finding Weinstein did not get a fair trial because a judge improperly allowed testimony by accusers he was not formally charged with assaulting.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office revealed in court last week that they intend to charge Weinstein for additional violent sexual assaults after more women agreed to testify.

The new accusers have not been publicly identified, and prosecutors are seeking to shield certain evidence from public view while they prepare to seek a new grand jury indictment.

Farber said on Friday that he will appoint a special magistrate to referee discovery disputes between the parties as they sift through new evidence ahead of trial.

Weinstein’s conviction was 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 Miramax film studio co-founder sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2024