British prosecutors decline to prosecute Harvey Weinstein over alleged 1990s incident
U.K. prosecutors say a criminal conviction with respect to an alleged 1996 incident would be unlikely
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein won't face criminal proceedings in Britain after all, prosecutors there said on Thursday.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which in 2022 authorized two charges of indecent assault against Weinstein, said it decided to discontinue proceedings because there was "no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.''
"We have explained our decision to all parties,'' the CPS said in a statement. ''We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police, and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met."
The service was investigating an alleged incident that occurred in London in 1996.
WATCH | Explaining the New York reversal of Weinstein's conviction:
Weinstein is imprisoned in New York and awaiting a second trial there, after a 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault was overturned earlier this year by the state Supreme Court. After that case is adjudicated, Weinstein is to begin serving a 16-year prison for rape and other offences after being convicted at a Los Angeles trial in 2022.
He was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York in 2020, convicted of assaulting his former production assistant in his Manhattan apartment in 2006 and of raping an actress at a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
But by a 4-3 decision, the New York State Supreme Court threw out the verdict, ruling that testimony from other women of "prior bad acts" committed by Weinstein compromised his right to a fair trial. The ruling distressed women's rights groups.
N.Y. retrial scheduled for later this year
The criminal trials in New York and California highlighted the difficulty in obtaining convictions over alleged incidents that lacked forensic evidence or eyewitness accounts. Weinstein was acquitted on several other charges, including allegations of rape from actress Annabella Sciorra, arguably the most famous person to testify at either trial.
Depending on the specific allegation, Weinstein through his lawyers denied they had ever occurred or argued they were consensual in nature.
The criminal cases, and several civil lawsuits kicked into gear after the New York Times and New Yorker published exposés days apart in 2017 in which several women levelled allegations of sexual assault against the powerful movie mogul. Days later, a tweet from the actress Alyssa Milano galvanized a #MeToo movement and encouraged more women to go public with allegations of predatory behaviour by men in positions of power across a number of industries.
Canadian actresses Mia Kirshner and Erika Rosenbaum were among the dozens to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct or assault. As well, at least one alleged incident described at Weinstein's California trial was said to have occurred in Toronto during the city's international film festival.
Some 40 Weinstein accusers voted in favour of a civil settlement, which three years ago set aside $17 million for a victims' fund.
Weinstein, 72, has cut a diminished figure at his criminal trials, using a walker or wheelchair. He spent time in hospital this summer with pneumonia, with his representatives saying at the time he is dealing with a host of health issues including diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis and fluid on his heart and lungs.
He was once among the most powerful forces in the motion picture industry, with films distributed or produced by his Miramax and Weinstein companies amassing 81 Academy Awards, including six Oscar wins for Best Picture.
The New York retrial is presently scheduled to begin on Nov. 12. NBC News reported on Wednesday that a grand jury has been convened to consider charges not brought before the court during the first trial.
With files from The Associated Press