June 15 (UPI) — A New York judge on Tuesday ordered Harvey Weinstein to be extradited to Los Angeles to face sexual assault charges.
Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case denied a motion by Weinstein’s attorney to delay his extradition and local prosecutors said the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office plans to transport Weinstein sometime by mid-July.
Weinstein’s attorney, Norman Effman, said he plans to appeal the order.
He added that Weinstein is not trying to avoid trial and said Los Angeles County could conduct a virtual arraignment.
“If LA wants jurisdiction to commence proceedings, fine,” Effman said.
The former movie producer is serving a 23-year prison sentence at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison near Buffalo, N.Y., after he was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape last year.
He also faces 11 counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles, including four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force.
Effman had challenged the transfer to Los Angeles to face those charges, citing Weinstein’s health.
“The reason he’s at Wende is it’s the regional medical center,” he said. “He’s in the middle of treatment right now.”
Erie County Assistant District Attorney Colleen Gable, however, countered that Los Angeles County had met the requirements for the transfer and Weinstein’s health could be attended to in Los Angeles.
“It’s Los Angeles — it’s not some remote outpost that doesn’t have medical care,” Gable said.
