Movie mogul Weinstein appears in handcuffs in court to face rape charges

Harvey Weinstein

Agencies / NEW YORK

Hollywood Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on Friday appeared hands cuffed in a New York court to face charges of rape and other sex crimes against two of the scores of women who have accused him of misconduct.

Weinstein was charged with rape in the first degree, rape in the third degree and committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree for alleged forcible sexual acts against two women in 2013 and 2004, Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement. Authorities have withheld the alleged victims’ names, although one is believed to be a woman who went public with allegations against Weinstein in a magazine article last year.

The judge set his bail at $10 million and restricted his movements to New York and Connecticut. Weinstein consented to 24-hour-a-day GPS monitoring and a temporary restraining order requested by one alleged victim. He also surrendered his passport.

The judge also granted a temporary order of protection on behalf of an unnamed victim in the case.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, with some of the allegations dating back decades. He has denied ever having nonconsensual sex.

The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct.

 

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Courtesy Los Angeles Time