Harvey Weinstein could face criminal charges by next week: Reports

Embattled producer Harvey Weinstein could face criminal charges in New York as early as next week.

Page Six reported that the Manhattan district attorney is planning to file an indictment against Weinstein for allegedly raping actress Paz de la Huerta twice in 2010. Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told the tabloid last week that authorities are working with the DA to obtain an arrest warrant to take Weinstein into custody in Arizona, where he’s undergoing rehabilitation therapy.

“We are not commenting on the investigation or any timeline,” a spokesperson for District Attorney Cyrus Vance told the Los Angeles Times.

De la Huerta reportedly identified herself as the woman who reported being raped in a complaint filed last month at the New York Police Department.

The Boardwalk Empire actress recently told Vanity Fair that Weinstein sexually assaulted her after offering her a ride home following a party. She claimed that the producer wanted to have drinks and made his way into her apartment—where he ripped her dress off and forced himself on her.

“He pushed me on the bed. He unzipped his pants and it happened all very suddenly,” she said.

Despite numerous allegations against Weinstein, the Times noted that it could take weeks for a grand jury to decide whether to indict him.

“If this person was still in New York, and it was recent, we’d go right away and make the arrest. No doubt,” Boyce said Friday, according to the New York Daily News.

“But we’re talking about a seven-year-old case. And we have to move forward gathering evidence first.”

 

[Featured Image: AP/ Chris Pizzello/Invision, File]