Harvey Weinstein Has Turned Himself in to Authorities in New York
In a somewhat surprising twist, embattled Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to police in New York City on Friday morning, and was arrested shortly after.
The producer was charged with first-degree rape and third-degree rape in one case, and with first-degree criminal sex act in another, law enforcement officials said, according to The New York Times. Weinstein is expected to be arraigned in court Friday.
As part of his pre-arranged bail agreement, Weinstein was released on a $1 million dollar bond, and agreed to wear a monitoring bracelet to track his whereabouts in the city. The Times also reports that he will have to surrender his passport and travel will be restricted within the country.
Previously, Weinstein was investigated under allegations from Italian actress Ambra Battilana, but the office decided not to press charges at that time. Charges filed last night stem from months of investigation which had New York detectives traveling to the UK, Canada, and California to interview numerous people regarding the case, which stems from accusations from actress Lucia Evans, who claims the 66-year-old forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004. Investigators are hoping more women will come forward.
Back in February of this year, the New York State’s Attorney filed a case effectively suing Weinstein’s former company, The Weinstein Company for its inability to protect staff from the now-bankrupt company’s former boss. The misconduct that the suit alleges Weinstein’s company was involved in includes: Berating and verbally harassing employees; threatening physical retaliation against staff; hiring a team of women whose sole job was to find women for their boss to have sexual contact with; instructing drivers for the company to keep condoms and erectile dysfunction drugs on hand at all times; telling some women that career advancement would come only if they had sexual contact with Weinstein.
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