Weinstein indecent assault charges discontinued by CPS

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.

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Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division at the CPS, said it 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 was jailed for 23 years in New York in 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of a former assistant and an actress.

The city's appeals court threw out the conviction in April, ruling that Weinstein did not get a fair trial.

He is still being held in New York City's Rikers Island jail while he awaits a retrial later this year.

Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in a separate rape trial in California, which he is appealing against.

More than 100 people have made rape and misconduct allegations about Weinstein dating back to the late 1970s.

The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse by powerful men.

Weinstein has always maintained his innocence and argued he was the victim of a "set-up".

He co-founded the Miramax film studio, which produced hits including Shakespeare in Love - which won best picture at the Academy Awards - and Pulp Fiction.

His films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.

In 2020 he was stripped of his honorary CBE, which had been awarded for his contribution to the British film industry.

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