Weinstein indecent assault charges discontinued by CPS

Reuters

Indecent assault charges in the UK against disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have been discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The CPS said it had made the decision after reviewing the evidence in the case and concluding "there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction".

Weinstein, 72, was charged in 2022 with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London for alleged offences in 1996.

The alleged victim is a woman who is now in her 50s, the Metropolitan Police said at the time.

Frank Ferguson, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the CPS had a duty to continuously review criminal cases and had "explained our decision to all parties".

“We would always encourage any potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and report to police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met.”

Weinstein is serving a prison sentence in the US following a sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles in 2020.

More than 80 people have made rape and misconduct claims about Weinstein dating back as far as the late 1970s.

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