Harvey Weinstein was arrested Friday morning after turning himself over to law enforcement, the NYPD confirmed.
Weinstein, 66, was arrested, processed and charged with rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two women, the NYPD said in a statement.
“The NYPD thanks these brave survivors for their courage to come forward and seek justice,” the statement continued.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office also confirmed that the film mogul was charged with first- and third-degree rape as well as criminal sex act in the first degree for “forcible sexual acts against two women in 2013 and 2004.”
First-degree rape and first-degree criminal sex act are both class B felonies in New York state, which carry a maxmum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Weinstein was released on $1 million bail, the Associated Press reported, and agreed to electric monitoring and to remain within New York and Connecticut.
The film mogul arrived early Friday morning at NYPD’s 1st Precint in Lower Manhattan. The arrest and charges are the result of a joint investigation between the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the department said.
“Today’s charges reflect significant progress in this active, ongoing investigation,” said Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance, Jr in a statement. “I thank the brave survivors who have come forward, and my Office’s prosecutors who have worked tirelessly on this investigation. …We urge additional survivors and others with relevant information to call our Sex Crimes Hotline at 212-335-9373.”
NYPD began investigating Weinstein in Oct. 2017, after dozens of women shared stories of facing sexual harassment and assault at the hands of one of the most powerful men in the film industry.
NYPD was specifically investigating the incident involving Lucia Evans, who spoke out in a New Yorker article about how Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, which is one of the incidents for which Weinstein was charged.
“I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t,’ ” she told the New Yorker, adding, “He’s a big guy. He overpowered me.”
The film mogul’s sexual misconduct has long been rumored in the industry. Dozens of women began speaking up with their own stories of his misconduct in Nov. 2017, kicking off the #MeToo movement. Those stories spanned decades, with the women saying that Weinstein used his power in the industry to harm both them and their careers.
Rose McGowan, one of first actresses in Hollywood to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, said in a statement on Thursday at the news of his impending arrest that those alleged victims were now “one step closer to justice.”
“I, and so many of Harvey Weinstein’s survivors, had given up hope that our rapist would be held accountable by law,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “We were young women who were assaulted by Weinstein and later terrorized by his vast network of complicity. I stand with my fellow survivors. May this give hope to all victims and survivors everywhere that are telling their truths.”
