NYPD has considerable evidence in Weinstein rape case

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New York City’s top detective said Wednesday police have gathered considerable evidence in the rape investigation of Harvey Weinstein but it’s up to the district attorney to decide whether the disgraced media mogul gets indicted.

“It’s his case right now,” Chief Robert Boyce said of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. “I would ask you to ask him ... his schedule ... where it goes forward.”

The district attorney’s office had no comment.

Boyce said investigators have been working diligently with women who alleged that Weinstein raped them. The probe stems from a report last October by “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta, who said Weinstein raped her twice in 2010. She also spoke publicly.

Actresses who have made allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein. /AP Photo‍

Detectives have since traveled to Paris and Los Angeles to interview de la Huerta and others. They have sought cellphone, business and medical records. Witnesses were prepared to testify before a grand jury, which would determine whether Weinstein is indicted, Boyce said. The proceeding is secret.

“We’ve accumulated quite a bit of evidence,” Boyce said.

Prosecutors have said they are taking the investigation seriously. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing five cases against Weinstein, two brought by the Beverly Hills Police Department and three from Los Angeles police.

Weinstein’s attorneys have said he denies any claim of non-consensual sex, and that they would respond in any “appropriate legal forum, where necessary.” They had no additional comment Wednesday.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has investigated Weinstein before, only to eventually back off of filing a criminal charge. In 2015, police conducted a sting after an Italian model accused Weinstein of groping her, secretly recording Weinstein apologizing for this conduct.

Vance ultimately decided there wasn’t enough proof and didn’t bring a case. Following criticism over the decision last year, prosecutors said police arranged the sting without their knowledge and there were other proof issues, but police pushed back saying they’d presented enough evidence.

(The article originally appeared on the Associated Press (AP), which does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they speak publicly, which de la Huerta has done.)

Source(s): AP