Harvey Weinstein appeared in court Friday on three charges related to a monthslong sex crime investigation led by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Weinstein surrendered himself to the New York Police Department that morning.
Prosecutors charged the disgraced Hollywood producer with two rape charges, one first-degree and one third-degree, and one criminal sexual act in the first degree. The alleged incidents occurred against two women in 2013 and 2004, respectively.
Weinsteins bail was set at $1 million, with a $10 million bond alternative.
Prosecutors said he will be fitted with a tracking device and must seek the courts approval if he wishes to leave New York or Connecticut. He has surrendered his passport.
Todays charges reflect significant progress in this active, ongoing investigation, District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. I thank the brave survivors who have come forward, and my Offices prosecutors who have worked tirelessly on this investigation.
Weinstein is expected to plead not guilty .
A lawyer for the former producer told reporters his team believes that at the end of the process, his client will be exonerated.
Weinsteins arrest comes more than seven months after damning initial reports in The New York Times and The New Yorker prompted dozens of women to come forward accusing him of various forms of sexual misconduct. Some thought the day would never come when he would face prosecution.
Reporters for the Times and The New Yorker Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow received the Pulitzer Prize for public service earlier this year for their work. They, along with the women who shared their stories, are credited with sparking the Me Too and Times Up movements against sexual misconduct that have affected innumerable other, less high-profile industries.
After surrendering, Weinstein was taken to court in handcuffs Friday morning to face the charges, The Associated Press reported.
The investigation is still ongoing. Weinsteins next court appearance is scheduled for July 30.
The NYPD said in a statement that Weinstein was charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two separate women.
One of the women is reportedly Lucia Evans, who told The New Yorker the disgraced Hollywood producer invited her to a meeting about work opportunities in 2004. He then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex.
I said, over and over, I dont want to do this, stop, dont, Evans told the outlet. I tried to get away, but maybe I didnt try hard enough. I didnt want to kick him or fight him.
Eventually, she said, Hes a big guy. He overpowered me.
An unnamed law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the other woman has not spoken publicly.
Prosecutors say Weinstein kept her physically against her will in a Manhattan DoubleTree hotel room, where he raped her in March 2013. She will reportedly remain anonymous throughout the proceedings.
A culture of abuse in Hollywood enabled Weinsteins alleged abuse to become an open secret in the industry, where the producer himself enjoyed all the perks of stardom.
He was said to hold the power to make or break a career.
One woman, a Netflix producer, said in a recent lawsuit against him that she could recall 11 separate incidents in which he sexually abused her.
Robert Boyce, now-retired chief of detectives for New York City, said in March that his department had gathered quite a bit of evidence against Weinstein, The Guardian reported .
As part of its investigation, the NYPD also examined the alleged 2010 sexual assault of Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta, The Wall Street Journal reported .
De la Huerta told Vanity Fair that Weinstein sexually assaulted her twice. Both incidents allegedly occurred at her Manhattan apartment. The second time, the actress said she had been drinking and recalled feeling afraid of the producer, who had been repeatedly calling her since the first rape.
I did say no, and when he was on top of me I said, I dont want to do this. He kept humping me and it was disgusting. Hes like a pig, she told Vanity Fair.
Weinstein, meanwhile, has continually denied engaging in any nonconsensual sex acts.
In 2015, New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. let Weinstein off the hook for an alleged sexual assault by an Italian model, deciding there was insufficient evidence to charge Weinstein for allegedly groping her . In March, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) ordered the state attorney general to review the decision, which Vance has defended.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are also reportedly investigating Weinstein, as are authorities in Los Angeles and London . The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York had opened a sex crime investigation to examine whether the producer lured any women across state lines to commit a sex crime.
Weinstein reportedly tried to silence many of his accusers by hiring private investigators to dig up information on the women and journalists aware of his alleged misconduct.
As ugly stories about his behavior continued stacking up last year, he checked into a rehabilitation facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, late last year.
Weinstein was fired from the studio he co-founded, The Weinstein Company, in October. He has also been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences .
The District Attorneys office urges additional survivors with relevant information about Weinstein to contact the citys Sex Crimes Hotline at 212-335-9373.
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