Harvey Weinstein Is Expected to Go on Trial for Sexual Assault in May

Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to go on trial for sexual assault in Manhattan on May 6, according to court papers filed earlier this week.

Vulture reports that Weinstein’s civil attorneys listed the date in filings released on Monday:

“Not only is Mr. Weinstein under indictment, his trial is scheduled for May 6, 2019. Mr. Weinstein and his counsel will be fully engaged in preparing for what will be a closely watched trial that will last six weeks from jury selection through verdict,” his civil lawyers wrote in a Manhattan Federal Court filing.

“It would be an overwhelming burden for Mr. Weinstein to have to litigate this case at great risk to his right against self-incrimination and at the expense of his time and efforts to prepare for criminal trial.”

A spokesperson for the New York State courts told the website that though “an early May trial date has been discussed,” it is still “tentative and unofficial,” and subject to change.

Still, it’s a sign that things are moving forward with the case. Weinstein faces five counts of allegedly nonconsensual encounters with two women, and though his team had been attempting to get the charges dropped, claiming a detective told one of Weinstein’s accusers to delete some texts, a New York judge ruled against them in December.

Charges include first and third degree rape, two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, and two counts of predatory sexual assault. The case originally involved three accusers and six counts of nonconsensual encounters, but the charge involving actor Lucia Evans was dropped “because the grand jury had not been given important evidence regarding Ms. Evans’s allegation before deciding to indict him,” according to Weinstein’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman.

Weinstein’s Manhattan trial comprises just a few in a long list of allegations against the former Hollywood mogul, with more than 80 women accusing him of sexual misconduct and harassment. Weinstein is also being sued over an alleged sexual assault by a British woman who says he groped her in Cannes, France in 2014; actor Ashley Judd is suing Weinstein for allegedly sinking her career after she rebuffed him, and he is the subject of at least two class action lawsuits related to “unwanted sexual contact.”