12th Oct 2017
Police on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed they are investigating Harvey Weinstein as the scandal surrounding the disgraced producer deepens.
In London, the Metropolitan police are assessing a sexual abuse allegation made against him, while in his hometown of New York police are carrying out a “review” looking for new complaints against him.
Scotland Yard told the Guardian on Thursday: “The Met has been passed an allegation of sexual abuse by Merseyside police on Wednesday 11 October. The allegation will be assessed by officers from the child abuse and sexual offences command.” There is no indication the complaint relates to child abuse.
Lt John Grimpel of the NYPD said in a statement: “Based on information referenced in published news reports the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter.
“No filed complaints have been identified as of this time and as always, the NYPD encourages anyone who may have information pertaining to this matter to call the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.”
On Thursday, French actor Florence Darel became the latest star to accuse the producer of sexual harassment, joining a string of other high-profile actors, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie , Léa Seydoux and Cara Delevingne , who have accused the producer of sexual harassment or assault. Three women have accused Weinstein of rape.
Weinstein has said many of the details of those public accounts are inaccurate, and he has denied accusations of criminal sexual harassment, rape and sexual assault.
On Tuesday, in a New Yorker article in which the three women claimed Weinstein had raped them , Sallie Hofmeister, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein … With respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday in response to his wife’s decision to leave him following the allegations, Weinstein said: “I support her decision, I am in counselling and perhaps, when I am better, we can rebuild. Over the last week, there has been a lot of pain for my family that I take responsibility for.”
And in video footage published on Wednesday, Weinstein told reporters: “Guys, I’m not doing OK but I’m trying. I gotta get help … You know, we all make mistakes … second chance I hope.”
In March 2015, Filipina-Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez accused Weinstein of groping her breasts and putting his hand up her skirt during a meeting at his office.
The NYPD said it investigated a misdemeanor sexual abuse complaint against Weinstein and the case was referred to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The office decided not to file charges.
The International Business Times has reported that David Boies, a prominent defense attorney who has represented Weinstein’s company, though was not doing so at the time of the alleged groping incident, donated $10,000 to Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R Vance Jr, in 2015, after the alleged incident.
More details soon …
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