The British prosecution service announced on Thursday, September 5, the withdrawal of sexual assault charges brought in 2022 in the United Kingdom against film producer Harvey Weinstein. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement that after examining the elements of the investigation, “There are no longer any realistic prospects for conviction”in this case, which concerned alleged sexual assaults on a woman in August 1996.
“We explained our decision to all parties”said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS’s special crimes and counter-terrorism division. In June 2022, the British prosecution service authorized the prosecution of the American producer, whose crimes had sparked the #metoo movement in 2017. “for two counts of sexual assault”.
“We will always encourage any potential victim of sexual assault to come forward and contact the police, and we will take legal action. [les responsables] wherever the legal criteria are met”he insisted on Thursday.
Sixteen years in prison for rape and sexual assault
Harvey Weinstein, arrested in 2018, is in custody for sexual assault and rape in the United States. The 72-year-old former producer is due to stand trial in New York next, following the annulment in late April by an appeals court of his 2020 conviction for the 2013 rape of actress Jessica Mann and the 2006 sexual assault of Mimi Haleyi, a production assistant. He remains in custody due to a 2023 sentence of sixteen years in prison in Los Angeles for other cases of rape and sexual assault.
The revelation of his sexual assaults in 2017 sent shockwaves around the world and freed the voices of many victims. More than 80 women have accused him of harassment, sexual assault or rape, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.
