Harvey Weinstein will head back to court in New York on Monday morning, to be arraigned on a new indictment involving the actor Annabella Sciorra.
The indictment has not been publicly disclosed. It is not clear if the movie mogul will face additional charges.
Weinstein has already been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of first-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape.
With the start of his trial less than three weeks away, it is likely that rather than add an additional charge, which could delay proceedings, prosecutors will ask for Sciorra’s testimony to be included, in attempt to establish a pattern of criminal behaviour.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that encounters with his accusers were consensual. If found guilty, the 67-year-old could spend the rest of his life in jail.
Last week, lawyers for Weinstein described the arraignment as “unprecedented”.
“There has been no case in recent memory where a district attorney has gone back to the grand jury on two separate occasions to re-present a case before that body in the hopes of obtaining an indictment that can withstand the scrutiny of a trial jury,” attorneys Donna Rotunno and Arthur Aidala said in a statement.
The lawyers claimed the “action by the prosecutor bespeaks the desperation that has engulfed their case” and indicated “more of a focus on obtaining a conviction at all costs than on seeking justice”.
More than 80 women have alleged sexual misconduct on the part of the producer, over four decades.
Prosecutors first charged Weinstein with sexually assaulting three women. Charges relating to the actor Lucia Evans were dropped over inconsistencies in her testimony raised by the defense.
Evans alleged that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a meeting in 2004. But according to public records, a witness told police Evans had said her sexual encounter with Weinstein was consensual.
Among the alleged encounters that remain attached to the case, Mimi Haleyi claims Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, who has not been identified, has accused Weinstein of twice raping her in 2013.
Weinstein’s lawyers claim the woman maintained communications with Weinstein after the alleged encounter, describing “a consensual intimate relationship documented in more than 400 emails”.
Earlier this year, prosecutors amended their evidence to add Sciorra. She has publicly accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her at her Gramercy Park apartment in 1993.
Judge James Burke first said Sciorra could not be added to the case because she had not been before a grand jury. Prosecutors convened another such panel this month, resulting in the indictment.
Weinstein’s defense team is seeking to have the trial moved from Manhattan.
In a court filing last week, attorneys said: “It is safe to say that New York City is the least likely place on earth where Mr Weinstein could receive a fair trial, where jurors could hear evidence, deliberate, and render a verdict in an atmosphere free of intimidation from pressure to deliver a result that the politicians, the activists, the celebrities and the media demand.”
Judge Burke has yet to rule on the request.
