Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial set for May

By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will go on trial in Manhattan on May 6 on charges of sexually assaulting two women, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

Weinstein is accused of forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in July 2006 and raping another woman in March 2013. He faces five charges, including rape, and a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

More than 70 women, mostly young actresses and others in the movie business, have accused Weinstein, 66, of sexual assaults dating back decades. The scandal helped launch the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in entertainment, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.

Weinstein, who pleaded not guilty after his arrest last May, has denied all the accusations, saying any sexual encounters were consensual.

The New York prosecution, which was brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, is the only criminal case to emerge from those allegations to date.

Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, confirmed the trial date in an email on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.

Weinstein is due back in court for a pretrial conference on March 7.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; editing by Tom Brown and Jonathan Oatis)