Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty to New Sex Crime Charge in New York

Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a new sex crime charge in an indictment handed down by a grand jury five months after his sex crimes conviction in New York was overturned.

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, Weinstein appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he pleaded not guilty to one count of criminal sex act in the first degree, ABC News, CNN and The New York Times report.

The former movie mogul, 72, appeared in court in a wheelchair, wearing a black suit and tie.

Weinstein missed his last court date on Thursday, Sept. 12, because he was not medically cleared to leave the hospital after emergency heart surgery on Monday, Sept. 9.

On Sept. 12, prosecutors announced that Weinstein had been indicted by a grand jury on new charges but that the indictment would remain sealed until he could come to court.

On Wednesday, prosecutors unsealed the indictment, which accuses Weinstein of sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel in 2006, The New York Times reports.

In 2020, in a landmark case that ushered in the #MeToo movement, Weinstein was convicted in New York of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

He was serving his sentence in an Upstate New York prison when the New York Court of Appeals overturned that conviction in April in a 4-to-3 decision. 

The Manhattan district attorney’s office vowed to retry Weinstein, convening a grand jury in August, NBC News reported. In addition to new charges, prosecutors will retry the case that was overturned, the Times reports.

On July 19, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber set a tentative date for a retrial on Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault charges for Nov. 12.

Weinstein remains imprisoned for a 2022 conviction of rape in California, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2023.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Weinstein’s rep, Juda Engelmayer said, in part, “We are disappointed that the department or corrections is fighting so hard against Harvey’s medical care needs. We will continue advocating for him to be in a place where he can heal and get healthier.”

Referencing the alleged 2006 incident, Engelmayer said, “We don’t know who, where, or what. We were told it is from 2006. It’s an obvious attempt by the DA to somehow back door their parade of hosts of witnesses before the jury as the Appeals Court rebuked them for last time.”

“Harvey pleaded not guilty, and has always maintained that stance. For the people with whom he knows he was with, he never forced anyone to be with him,” Engelmayer added.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.