Harvey Weinstein facing two charges of indecent assault in UK

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has authorized charging Harvey Weinstein with two charges of indecent assault against one woman in London in August 1996.

“Charges have been authorised against Harvey Weinstein, 70, following a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” the CPS said in a statement. “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”

The CPS is an independent agency that “prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other investigative organizations in England and Wales.”

Weinstein would need to be formally charged in the U.K. before a trial could begin. It’s unclear when that could happen, as Weinstein is being held in downtown Los Angeles at the Correctional Treatment Center, which is the medical unit within the Twin Towers jail, while he awaits trial on 11 charges of rape and sexual assault.

Weinstein co-founded the movie production company Miramax with his brother. One of the most powerful people in Hollywood at the time, Weinstein became the focus of the #MeToo movement in October 2017 after The New York Times published a story alleging Weinstein had paid at least eight settlements to women accusing him of sexual misconduct.

Dozens of women publicly accused Weinstein of similar misconduct in the following weeks. He was fired from his own production company less than a week later.

In addition to the charges he was convicted of in New York, Weinstein was extradited to Los Angeles in July 2021 and charged with four counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation.