Two sexual assault cases against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein have been filed with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office and are now “under review.”
District attorney office spokesman Greg Risling said Tuesday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, that the Beverly Hills Police Department brought the cases to the DA in December. It is now up to District Attorney of Los Angeles County Jackie Lacey to decide whether to bring charges against Weinstein.
News of the potential charges comes nearly three months after the New York Times published its bombshell story detailing decades of allegations of sexual abuse, harassment, and rape against Weinstein. Since then, more than fifty women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.
Weinstein, who has denied wrongdoing, was fired from The Weinstein Company in October and was subsequently expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Television Academy, and the Producers Guild of America.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is reportedly preparing indictments against Weinstein, while law enforcement agencies in London are also investigating accusations against him.
In October, the Los Angeles Police Department, under Lacey’s direction, assembled a task force to investigate sexual abuse allegations.
Last year saw a reckoning of dozens of Hollywood heavyweights, including Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, and Russell Simons, who had been accused of sexual misconduct. The spread of harassment victim accounts helped shaped the social media-driven #MeToo movement, which made waves around the world as women spoke out in protest against sexual harassment in Hollywood and in the media.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson
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