LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Los Angeles judge on Thursday rejected an attempt to throw out three sexual assault charges against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein ahead of his second trial later this year, the City News Service reported.
Weinstein, 69, who was convicted of rape at a trial last year in New York, is facing a total of 11 new charges involving five women in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area between 2004-2013.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles and is appealing his New York conviction and 23 year prison sentence.
His attorney Mark Werksman told Los Angeles Superior Court that three charges – rape, sexual battery and forcible oral copulation – relating to 2004 and 2005 should be thrown out on the grounds that the statute of limitations in California has expired.
The judge ruled against Weinstein on two of the counts but asked prosecutors to amend the sexual battery charge, City News reported.
Weinstein, once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all 11 of the charges. A date for the trial has still to be set.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Grant McCool)
