Harvey Weinstein Indicted by New York Grand Jury on Rape Charges

Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on rape charges prosecutors announced Wednesday afternoon. 

"This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

"Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs. The defendant’s recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable. We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand." 

One of Weinstein's accusers, Lucia Evans, accuses him of forcing her to perform oral sex after he lured her to his Tribeca office for a meeting about her career in 2004. A second accuser, who has not been identified, says Weinstein raped her in 2013 at a New York City hotel. 

Weinstein did not appear in front of the grand jury to testify after his attorney Ben Brafman told the court that his client did not have enough time or information to prepare.

Weinstein surrendered to New York City police last Friday afternoon and he was arrested and arraigned. Brafman released a statement complaining that prosecutors have "unfairly denied access to critical information about this case that was needed" to defend his client. 

"Mr. Weinstein's attorneys noted that regardless of how compelling Mr. Weinstein's personal testimony might be, an indictment was inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction of Mr. Weinstein," the statement from Brafman's office read.

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