Celebrity News

Harvey Weinstein won’t go to LA for sex crimes case until April

By
Social Links for Rebecca Rosenberg
Published Dec. 11, 2020, 10:31 a.m. ET

Hollywood mogul-turned-convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein appeared via video in an upstate courtroom Friday for an extradition hearing in his Los Angeles sex crimes case.

Defense lawyers and LA prosecutors agreed to push back his trip to the City of Angels for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic spiking on both coasts.

“The issues pertaining to the transportation of someone from New York to California and specifically with respect to Mr. Weinstein given his very serious health conditions remain the same,” said his lawyer Norm Effman.

Weinstein, 68, wearing a burgundy shirt, a black wristwatch and a white face mask, appeared via video from Wende Correctional Facility in Erie County, where he’s serving a 23-year sentence for rape and criminal sex act.

He rubbed his head or flipped through a yellow notepad during the brief court appearance.

The judge adjourned the extradition hearing to April. Before the proceeding began, a local TV station asked to film and Weinstein objected, shaking his head. “From my point of view, no access,” he blurted. “We would oppose photographs as well.”

Harvey Weinstein appears in court via video conference in Erie County Court in front of Judge Kenneth Case.
Harvey Weinstein appears before Judge Kenneth Case in Erie County Court via video conference.

His lawyer chimed in, “We aren’t looking for publicity.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged Weinstein with 11 counts of rape, sexual battery and other raps stemming from the allegations of five women. If convicted, he faces 140 years to life in prison.

Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Supreme Courthouse at 100 Center Street in Downtown, Manhattan on February 3, 2020.
Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Supreme Courthouse at 100 Center St. in Manhattan on Feb. 3, 2020. Stefan Jeremiah

Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of raping hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” TV staffer Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi in 2006.

In October, an Appellate Division First Department judge rejected his bid for release on a $2 million bond pending his soon-to-be-filed appeal. His lawyers argued that he would likely die if he remained in prison given his numerous health conditions, which they said aren’t being properly treated.

More than 100 women have accused the ruined Hollywood mogul of harassment and sexual misconduct.