Harvey Weinstein charged in Los Angeles for sex crimes as NY rape trial starts

New York: Once powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was charged in Los Angeles on Monday on sex crime charges just hours after he appeared in a New York court for the start of his rape trial, which has become a focal point for the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein was charged with sexual assault of two unidentified women in 2013, said Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. He was charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting the other.

"We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit violent crimes against them," Lacey said.

Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York. He faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault.

Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's lead counsel in New York, declined to comment on the Los Angeles charges, saying she needed more information. A Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer declined to comment.

The charges added to heightened emotions and tension surrounding the trial as jury selection begins on Tuesday.

More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades. Weinstein has denied the allegations, saying any sexual encounters he had were consensual.

Those accusations helped fuel the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, politics, the news media and entertainment of sexual harassment or assault.

Earlier on Monday, Weinstein hobbled in and out of the Manhattan court, aided by a walker and with a member of his team holding his arm as he recovers from recent back surgery.

Near the courthouse, the Silence Breakers, a group of Weinstein accusers including actresses Rosanna Arquette and Rose McGowan, held a news conference and waved signs demanding accountability for Weinstein. The beginning of the criminal trial and the new charges "are a clear indication that the risks we took and the consequences we subsequently faced were not in vain," the group said in a statement.

"As we stand here at the beginning of a new year and a new decade, time's up on sexual harassment in all workplaces," said Arquette, referencing the #TimesUp movement that opposes sexual harassment. "And time's up on the pervasive culture of silence that has enabled abusers like Weinstein."

Allegations against Weinstein first were reported in the New York Times and The New Yorker magazine in October 2017.

Days later, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted: "If you've ever been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet."

#MeToo became one of the most used widely used hashtags, viewed 42 billion times in 2019, according to data from Brandwatch, a research firm.