Prosecutors Drop Part Of Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Case

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have dropped one of the sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the court she would drop count six of the indictment, which involves Lucia Evans, an actress who accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in 2004.

Prosecutors said in a Sept. 12 letter to the defense unsealed today that they discovered an account after Weinstein’s arrest that could suggest the encounter was consensual. 

Weinstein defense attorney Benjamin Brafman accused Evans of committing perjury when she testified to the grand jury.

“Sexual assault is a serious crime but falsely accusing someone of sexual assault is also a serious crime,” Brafman said outside court on Thursday.

Brafman said prosecutors discovered Evans’ written account about her encounter with Weinstein from a fact-checker with The New Yorker, and said he would subpoena the magazine.

In a statement, a spokesperson for The New Yorker said that the magazine stands by their reporting and fact-checking process. 

Weinstein’s defense team called the case “permanently and irreparably damaged” and Brafman said he would use the development to dismiss the whole case.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, however, said the rest of the case is “full steam ahead.”