UK prosecutors discontinue indecent assault charges against Harvey Weinstein

LONDON: British prosecutors said on Thursday they had discontinued indecent assault charges against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

"Following a review of the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein," said Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division

"The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuous review and we have decided that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein in Manhattan Criminal Court for a pretrial hearing on July 19, 2024AFP

When it authorized charges two years ago, the CPS said the alleged assault had taken place in August 1996 in London, with police saying the accusation involved a woman, now aged in her 50s.

Weinstein, 72, has denied having any non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone.

Jurors in Manhattan found him guilty on rape charges in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction in April, finding Weinstein did not get a fair trial because a judge improperly allowed testimony by accusers he was not formally charged with assaulting.

A court in Los Angeles in 2022 convicted him of raping an actress in the city.

(Reporting by William James and Michael Holden, Editing by Paul Sandle)