Disgraced former producer Harvey Weinstein is facing two criminal charges in the U.K. after he was accused of sexually assaulting an unnamed woman in London in August 1996.
In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized London’s Metropolitan Police to charge Weinstein with two counts of “indecent assault.”
The charges follow “a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” the statement said.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial,” it said.
Weinstein, 70, was sentenced to 23 years behind bars in New York state in 2020 for sexually assaulting two women: a former production assistant and an actress. A panel of appellate judges upheld the conviction last week.
He was transferred to a facility in California last year to face more criminal sexual assault charges. A grand jury heard testimony from five women before returning their indictment for incidents that allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2013.
Weinstein has denied all charges of nonconsensual sex.
Accusations against him had been rumored for decades, but were cast into the global spotlight with two exposes published in October 2018 by The New York Times and The New Yorker.
More allegations surfaced in the weeks and months afterward, revealing an alleged pattern of abuse wherein Weinstein would prey on young actors eager to make a name for themselves by inviting them in for meetings where they would find themselves alone with him.