By Jonathan Stempel
Harvey Weinstein has been indicted in California on sexual assault charges, one of his lawyers said on Monday, as the former Hollywood movie producer appeared in a New York court proceeding over whether to extradite him.
The 69-year-old Weinstein wore a collarless rust-colored shirt as he appeared from the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo by video before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case.
Weinstein has been appealing his February 2020 conviction in Manhattan and 23-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
California’s criminal case against Weinstein covers alleged attacks on five women from 2004 to 2013 in the Los Angeles area, and announced last year.
It includes four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, and one count of sexual penetration by use of force.
Weinstein has denied having nonconsensual sex with anyone.
Norman Effman, a public defender representing Weinstein, asked that his client be arraigned on the indictment virtually in New York rather than extradited so he could get necessary medical treatment, including scheduled eye and dental surgery.
Effman said Weinstein, a diabetic, is “almost technically blind at this point,” and also suffers from cardiac and back problems.
