Federal prosecutors in New York have opened investigations into disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein on charges of sexual abuse, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
As authorities in New York and Los Angeles continue to investigate Weinstein over alleged sexual offenses, federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating potential sex crimes that involved luring women across state lines, which would be a federal offense.
The Journal reports that Weinstein’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, has met with federal prosecutors “in an attempt to dissuade them from proceeding,” and will hold more meetings in the coming weeks.
“Mr. Weinstein has always maintained that he has never engaged in nonconsensual sexual acts,” Brafman said.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are still investigating Weinstein for rape allegations from actresses Lucia Evans and Paz de la Huerta, with Chief detective Robert Boyce recently revealing they had found “quite a bit of evidence” to support the claims.
According to Boyce, de la Huerta’s has “the ability to articulate each and every minute of the crime, where she was, where they met, where this happened and what he did.”
In February, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) also confirmed that it had submitted three cases against Weinstein to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, although none of those cases have yet moved forward.
The Metropolitan Police in London have also said they are investigating Weinstein over allegations from nine separate women.
Since initial allegations against Weinstein were revealed last October, dozens of women have come forward to accuse him of sexual crimes ranging from harassment to rape, leading to a wider sexual misconduct scandal across the entertainment industry.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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