April 11 (UPI) — Los Angeles County prosecutors announced Friday that they filed new sex assault charges against convicted film producer Harvey Weinstein based on a 2010 alleged incident in a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel.
Weinstein, 68, who is currently serving a 23-year sentence in a prison near Buffalo, N.Y., for rape, is already facing extradition to Los Angeles for four other charges based on two 2013 alleged sexual assault incidents, also in hotels.
Prosecutors on Friday added a felony count of sexual battery by restraint, a statement from Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors said the new accuser started out as a possible corroborating witness for the 2013 cases when police interviewed her in October.
She then was identified by police as another victim.
Weinstein allegedly sexually assaulted her in a hotel on May 11, 2010, which fell within the 10-year-statute of limitations, the office said.
“If we find new evidence of a previously unreported crime, as we did here, we will investigate and determine whether additional criminal charges should be filed,” District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.
Prosecutors said they identified two other victims who declined to testify.
Weinstein was charged in January in Los Angeles with one felony count each of “forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint,” for the other two cases, the DA’s office said.
Weinstein would face an additional maximum 32 years in prison if he were convicted of all of the Los Angeles County charges.
Los Angeles prosecutors did not identify any of the women pressing charges against Weinstein.
But one of the Los Angeles accusers was identified by Variety as Lauren Young, who testified during the New York proceedings that in a hotel bathroom in 2013, Weinstein groped her while he masturbated.
The other Los Angeles charges were brought by an Italian actress and model who accused Weinstein of raping her after forcing his way into her hotel room, Variety reported.
California prosecutors said they began the extradition process by requesting temporary custody of Weinstein, who’s being held in Wende Correctional Facility, a New York maximum security prison.
It was unclear how long that process could take.
“Upon [Weinstein’s] arrival, he will be arraigned on the amended complaint. Once a court date is set, the public will be notified,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Weinstein recently tested positive for COVID-19, New York prison officials announced in March.
