The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is considering filing criminal charges against film producer Harvey Weinstein on multiple sexual misconduct allegations, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Weinstein is scheduled for trial in New York on Jan. 6, on charges of the rape of one woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and the sexual assault of another woman in 2006, AP news reports.
According to D.A. spokesman Greg Risling, the Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing eight cases that began more than two years ago: four cases from the Lost Angeles Police Department and four cases from the Beverly Hills Police Department, two of which were submitted within the last few months, sources told the LA Times.
Several other women across the country have also accused Weinstein of sexual assault, sources told the outlet, including three women in New York.
In total, the LA times reported that there are at least 18 women with individual suits against Weinstein involving sexual misconduct, assault or harassment.
Weinstein reportedly denied all allegations, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and claimed any sexual activity was consensual.
The two main cases under review are assaults that occurred on the same day at two different hotel rooms on Feb. 19, 2013.
An Italian model-actress told the LA Times that she first met the producer during the Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion, and Art Fest. He then allegedly “bullied” his way into her hotel room at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel and raped her.
“Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked,” the actress told the outlet.
“He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do. … He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.”
The second victim alleged to another assault in Beverly Hills several hours before the incident with the Italian woman. She may testify at the New York trial in January.
Weinstein’s attorney David Ring, however, claimed that he was not present at Mr.C Beverly Hills that night, adding that it is a “delaying tactic” to convict Weinstein.
“My client is fully cooperating with law enforcement and the D.A.’s office,” said Ring. “She will appear and tell the jury how Weinstein raped her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013. … It will be difficult and stressful for her, but she knows it must occur in order to convict Weinstein, who continues to buy time with delaying tactics.”
People familiar with the investigation told the LA Times that the office could act before the New York prosecutors complete their criminal trial of Weinstein.
