Judge May Dismiss Count in Weinstein Criminal Case After New Evidence Comes to Light
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are preparing to go to court on Thursday for the criminal case against
Harvey Weinstein, but their case may be in some trouble after the discovery of what could be exculpatory evidence. The case against the disgraced movie producer is based on allegations from three different women, but reports say a written account from one of them give the impression that her experience may have been consensual.
A source with law enforcement told the
New York Post that one of
Lucia Evans‘ former employers handed over a written account from an office computer that might tell a different story from what Evans told the grand jury.Evans has accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in 2004.
Prosecutors were reportedly torn over what to do next, in light of the new evidence.
“The writings indicate it was consensual, friendly,” a source told the
Post. “It has caused a split [in the DA’sOffice], some believe the charges should be dropped and that there’s a problem [with this complainant].”
The source said that the Manhattan DA’s Office ultimately decided to move forward.
At Thursday’s court appearance, the judge is expected to announce whether he will dismiss the count related to Evans’ allegations.
This comes after prosecutors hit
another setback, in the form of allegations that a lead detective on the case may have “coached” a witness before she appeared before the grand jury, according to ABC News.
In addition to the three allegations in this case, Weinstein has faced accusations of sexual harassment and assault from dozens of actresses, including
Rose McGowan,
Salma Hayek,
Annabella Sciorra, and
Gwyneth Paltrow.