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Harvey Weinstein indicted on 11 sexual assault charges in LA, fights extradition from NY in virtual hearing
Harvey Weinstein and his legal team fought the extradition to LA from New York where he is currently lodged at maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo.
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein who was convicted last year on various sexual assault charges appeared for a virtual hearing on Monday. As per latest reports, Harvey has been indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles County and he could be extradited here from New York. The producer and his legal team, however, fought the extradition from New York to LA. Weinstein is currently lodged at maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo in New York.
In Los Angeles, Weinstein has been indicted of four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery and one count of sexual penetration by force. The charges are based on the alleged assaults of five women in West LA and Beverly Hills that took place between 2004 and 2013, prosecutors revealed.
The new indictment contains these 11 previously mentioned charges and no new charges have been levelled against the producer. The case in LA may be fast-tracked. However, Weinstein and his team are fighting tooth and nail to delay the extradition. Representing Weinstein is Norman Effman, a public defender, who urged the court to take his client's medical condition in consideration. Weinstein's eye and dental surgery have been scheduled in the coming weeks.
He said, "We’re not trying to avoid what is going to happen in California. We believe there is not only a defense to these charges but a very good defense to these charges. We believe that it will result in an acquittal once this trial commences and concludes in California." Weinstein, on the other hand, has maintained that all sexual acts were consensual in nature.
Details of the LA indictment remain under wraps as it is sealed and "subject to a protective order". Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case delayed a decision on Weinstein's extradition from New York to Los Angeles and has now rescheduled the hearing to 30 April.
Just last week, Harvey lodged a fresh appeal against his sexual assault convictions in the Manhattan case in which he is serving 23 years long jail term.
ALSO READ: Harvey Weinstein appeals sexual assault conviction, claims he was 'deprived of fair trial'
