Harvey Weinstein pleads 'not guilty' to new sexual assault charge

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday, in a New York courtroom, to one new indictment charging him with a first-degree criminal sexual act, as he awaits retrial on another assault case.

Weinstein, 72, was indicted last week after undergoing emergency heart surgery on Sept. 8. The former movie producer arrived Wednesday in a wheelchair at the Manhattan courtroom, where he entered a not guilty plea after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2006 in a New York hotel.

"Thanks to this survivor who bravely came forward, Harvey Weinstein now stands indicted for an additional alleged violent sexual assault," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

The new indictment comes as Weinstein awaits a retrial in New York for a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

Weinstein was convicted of rape in 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in April over "irrelevant" testimony and ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled for November.

In its opinion, the court found the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."

"Under our system of justice, the accused has a right to be held to account only for the crime charged and, thus, allegations of prior bad acts may not be admitted against them," the court stated earlier this year.

Weinstein also was convicted last year on separate rape charges in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Despite more than 80 women accusing him of sex crimes, Weinstein has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and claims his encounters were consensual.

"Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody," his attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters Wednesday.

"There were reports that there were going to be three indictments handed down today, and in fact, there is one indictment that was unsealed," Aidala added. "We're making the assumption that that's the only indictment that's going to be unsealed."