Judge sets Harvey Weinstein's retrial on sexual misconduct charges for April

Jan. 29 (UPI) -- One-time Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein will face a retrial on sexual misconduct charges on April 15 in New York, a judge said Wednesday.

Weinstein, once one of the most powerful figures in the movie industry, had a 23-year conviction and sentence on cases of sexual misconduct of two women in 2020 overturned last year by an appeals court.

Judge Curtis Farber said on Wednesday that new allegations against Weinstein from a September grand jury will be included in the new trial, adding a third woman to the case. Weinstein, who is suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia, came to courtroom in a wheelchair.

He asked for an earlier trial date, telling Farber, "I won't be there for April" because of his health.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," he said, according to NBC News. "I can't hold on anymore. I am holding on because I want justice. I want this to be over with."

Weinstein, who is being held at Rikers Island, said he will die in jail if the trial isn't moved from the April date.

Weinstein was one of the most influential figures in Hollywood as head of Miramax. But scores of women accused him of using that power to force women under his control into sexual encounters.

Indictments against him, which sparked the #MeToo movement, were issued in Los Angeles, as well as New York.

A New York appeals court ruled that the judge in his New York court erred when he allowed women not connected to the alleged victim in the case to testify against Weinstein, forcing prosecutors to retry the entertainment executive.