British prosecutors drop sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein

LONDON: British prosecutors announced on Thursday (September 5) that they had dropped sexual assault charges against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, concluding that there was no realistic chance of a conviction.

When British prosecutors brought charges against Weinstein two years ago, they said the alleged attack took place in London in August 1996. Police added that the accusation concerned a woman who is now 50 years old.

“After reviewing the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein,” said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division.

“The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under review on an ongoing basis and we have concluded that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.”

Ferguson said the CPS had explained the decision to all those involved.

Weinstein, 72, was found guilty of rape charges in the United States in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison, a milestone in the #MeToo movement in which women have accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other areas of sexual misconduct.

However, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in Manhattan in April, saying that the co-founder of the Miramax film studio had not received a fair trial because a judge had wrongly allowed testimony from accusers whose assault he had not been officially accused of. He faces a retrial in November.

A Los Angeles court also convicted him in 2022 of raping an actress in the city and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. That conviction was not affected by the New York court's decision and he has not yet begun serving the California sentence. Weinstein denies any wrongdoing and denies having had any non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone.