Trigger Warning: This article contains information about sexual assault which may be triggering for some. Please read with caution and exercise self-care.
Harvey Weinstein has been extradited from New York to California where he will stand trial for further rape and sexual assault charges, pertaining to the alleged attacks on five women between 2004 and 2013.
The once all-powerful producer stands accused of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint, and sexual penetration by use of force.
Weinstein’s lawyers fought to prevent the extradition from being approved, arguing that the 69-year-old needed to remain in the state prison in Buffalo, New York, where he was incarcerated in order to receive medical care. In June, the request to keep him on the east coast, where he is serving a 23-year sentence, was denied by a judge who approved the extradition order.
Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, said, “We will be fighting so that Harvey can receive his needed medical care and of course, so that he can be treated fairly,” Engelmayer said. “Due process, presumption of innocence and a fair trial are all still his right.”
Weinstein has consistently denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual acts, despite over 80 women coming forward to accuse him otherwise. He was convicted in February 2020 of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel room and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment.
The former Miramax boss’s decades of wrongdoing were revealed in October 2017 in twin exposés written in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow and The New York Times by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.
All three journalists won Pulitzer Prizes for their efforts.
In June, it was announced that Universal Pictures was in early development for a film exploring Twohey and Kantor’s story with production expected to begin later in 2021. Unorthodox director Maria Schrader will direct, with Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan in the roles of the two journos. The film has been set for a late 2021 release.
Farrow documented his, often-nail biting, mission to expose Weinstein in his 2019 book: Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators and further in a podcast of the same name.
A six-part, half-hour documentary series — Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes — is now streaming on BINGE, bringing to life Farrow’s intimate, revealing interviews with whistle-blowers, journalists, private investigators and other sources, conducted for his bestselling book.
Weinstein’s exposure as a prolific predator signalled the start of the #MeToo era in Hollywood, which has since seen numerous other men, such as Kevin Spacey, held accountable for using their wealth, fame and power to coerce people into engaging in sexual acts against their will — often with the promise of advancing their careers or under threat of having them destroyed.
A lawyer for one of Weinstein’s accusers addressed the producer’s transfer to California, applauding the decision to extradite him to the west coast.
“The opportunity to hold Weinstein accountable for his actions in California gives voice to the survivors including my client, Jane Doe 4,” attorney Elizabeth Fegan said in a statement. “They deserve to be heard and to have Weinstein answer for his actions. Our hope is that a guilty verdict in California will ensure that Harvey Weinstein will spend the rest of his life behind bars – securing justice for women everywhere.”
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a sexual assault, please contact the Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence National Help Line on 1800 Respect (1800 737 732) or head to The Australian Human Rights Commission for a list of state by state resources.
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