Harvey Weinstein: UK prosecutors drop indecent assault charges against disgraced Hollywood movie mogul

5 September 2024, 11:05 | Updated: 5 September 2024, 15:02

Indecent assault charges in the UK against disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein have been discontinued.

In June 2022 the Metropolitan Police force announced it had been authorised to charge Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London between July and August 1996.

It followed a review of evidence into the former Hollywood producer, 72, after allegations from a woman who was aged in her 50s.

On Thursday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the case would no longer go ahead, but did not offer any further details.

In a statement, it said: "The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuous review and we have decided that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, added: "We have 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."

The former film producer's landmark 2020 New York conviction saw him handed a 23-year prison sentence and kickstarted a global #MeToo movement - but in April it was overturned by the state's highest court.

Weinstein remains in custody in New York while awaiting retrial because he was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is also appealing against this conviction.

Weinstein has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone.

(c) Sky News 2024: Harvey Weinstein: UK prosecutors drop indecent assault charges against disgraced Hollywood movie mogul