Detectives with the New York Police Department are building a case to arrest disgraced former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for rape, the New York Times reports.
The NYPD is gathering evidence to arrest Harvey Weinstein for rape
Rich Polk/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company
Constance Grady is a senior correspondent on the Culture team for Vox, where since 2016 she has covered books, publishing, gender, celebrity analysis, and theater.
Over the past month, dozens of women both inside and outside the entertainment industry have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault, including Hollywood A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. More than one of these women has accused Weinstein of rape, but the Times reports that the NYPD is currently focusing on the allegations of Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta. She is one of Weinstein’s most recent accusers, saying in an interview with CBS News earlier this week that Weinstein raped her on two separate occasions in 2010, when she was living in New York City.
According to CBS News, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has assigned a senior sex crimes prosecutor to investigate this case.
Additionally, his office said in a statement to CBS on Friday that it “has been working with our partners in the NYPD since the new allegations came to light. [...] As this is an active investigation, we will not be commenting further.”
Vance’s office has a particular interest in making a public move against Weinstein. The New York Times’s initial report on Weinstein’s alleged decades of sexual misconduct revealed that in 2015, when one of Weinstein’s alleged victims went to the police about his behavior, Vane declined to press charges. A follow-up story from the International Business Times revealed that shortly after Vance declared that he would not press charges against Weinstein, Weinstein’s lawyers delivered $10,000 to his office.
According to the police department’s chief of detectives, Robert K. Boyce, the NYPD will not seek to arrest Weinstein immediately, the New York Times reports.
“We have an actual case going forward,” Boyce said. “If this person was still in New York and it was recent we would go right away and make the arrest, no doubt. But we’re talking about a seven-year-old case. And we have to move forward gathering evidence.”
Update: A spokesperson for Weinstein sent Vox the following statement: “We do not believe an indictment of Mr. Weinstein is imminent. A formal presentation will be made on Mr. Weinstein’s behalf in the appropriate course of the investigation, and we strongly believe we will demonstrate that no criminal charges are warranted. Blair Berk and Ben Brafman will be defending Mr. Weinstein in any matters in New York.”
By Constance Grady and Tanya Pai
