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Aug. 19 (UPI) — Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will remain incarcerated in New York as he awaits a new sex crimes trial set for November before being returned to California to serve out his sentence there, according to prosecutors.
Weinstein, 72, was arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court on a warrant issued by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
During his five-minute appearance, Weinstein was cuffed to his wheelchair with one hand and the other was holding a book and a magazine.
The hearing took place in Queens instead of Manhattan because the courthouse is closer to Rikers Island prison.
Weinstein, who was in Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan last month for health issues, is facing a retrial scheduled for Nov. 12 after the state Court of Appeals overturned his rape and sexual assault conviction from 2020. He was convicted of assaulting his former production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, in 2013.
In April, the court threw out the guilty verdicts and his 23-year sentence based on testimony provided by three women about uncharged instances of sexual violence.
Prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg were not in office when Weinstein went on trial. They have said they may file a superseding indictment, including allegations from other victims.
“A number of women came forward to indicate they were raped by the defendant in Manhattan,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told Judge Curtis Farber in July about several other women not yet prepared to speak during Weinstein’s trial.
Weinstein was later tried and convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 on separate rape and sexual assault charges, and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
“The defendant – who was convicted in California of forcible rape and other crimes – will be returned to the state of California after his case in New York County is completed,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.