Harvey Weinstein remains in New York prison while awaiting retrial of rape case

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Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein remains in custody in New York while awaiting his Resumption of proceedings for rape and sexual assault in Manhattan, prosecutors confirmed.

Weinstein appeared briefly in court in connection with California's extradition request.

After completing the New York case, he will return to California to continue his still outstanding 16-year prison sentence because of a separate rape conviction, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.

“Today, defendant Harvey Weinstein was officially arraigned on an arrest warrant issued by Governor Kathy Hochul, who exercised her authority to order him to remain in New York State pending the trial of his case in New York County,” Katz said. “He will begin serving the California sentence, as that is now his primary sentence.”

Weinstein, who denies raping or sexually abusing anyone, was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York.

His conviction in 2020 in Manhattan was thrown out this spring The state Supreme Court ruled that the judge in the original trial had improperly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that were not part of the case.

The Retrial in Manhattan is provisionally planned for November.

Weinstein, 72, confined to his wheelchair with one hand and clutching a book and magazine with the other, appeared in Queens Criminal Court for less than five minutes yesterday as his lawyers agreed he will remain at the nearby Rikers Island jail complex. Weinstein has returned there after being hospitalized last month for health problems, including COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs.

The extradition proceedings were heard in Queens rather than Manhattan due to its proximity to Rikers Island.

Prosecutors in Manhattan said last month they planned to file new sexual assault charges against Weinstein, but did not provide further details or a timeline for the possible new charges.

Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala said at the time that the prosecution's talk of new accusers raised doubts about the strength of their current evidence.