Disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is tentatively scheduled for a November rape retrial, where he will potentially face new sexual assault allegations brought forth by victims in New York.
During a brief hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court Friday, Judge Curtis Farber announced a court date of Nov. 19, but also hinted at the possibility of an earlier September date, contingent upon the outcome of the pretrial discovery, USA TODAY reported.
In court last Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said the prosecution was still mulling over whether or not to pursue additional sex assault charges against the 72-year-old convicted sex offender after more survivors came forward following the Court of Appeals' decision to overturn his New York rape conviction in April, ABC News previously reported.
Weinstein has long denied any wrongdoing.
"We believe the defendant forcibly raped and sexually abused women in Manhattan that fall within the statute of limitations," Blumberg told Farber, according to the outlet. "There were women in 2020 who were not ready to proceed with the legal process. They are now ready."
Blumberg said the prosecution is gunning for a November retrial, while Weinstein's defense team said they'd like to proceed sooner than later, citing the producer's deteriorating health, including his battles with macular degeneration and diabetes.
"He is anxious to go to trial and prove his innocence," one of his attorneys, Diana Fabi Samson, said outside the courthouse Friday, according to the Associated Press.
The former showbiz tycoon behind wildly successful films, such as Django Unchained, Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction, is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for a 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles, but will stay in New York pending his retrial.
Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress who previously accused Weinstein of rape during his initial New York trial, plans to testify against her alleged attacker in November, the AP reported. Another one of Weinstein's alleged New York victims, production assistant Miriam Hayley, has not yet decided to take the stand a second time, her lawyer said.
