Police in both London and New York City have confirmed they are investigating allegations of sexual abuse that have been made against former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein over the past week.
According to The Guardian, the Metropolitan Police in London is investigating a specific sexual abuse allegation, whereas the New York Police Department is conducting a broad-based ‘review’ to find new complaints against Weinstein.
Apparently – according to a statement from Lt John Grimpel of the NYPD – no filed complaints have yet been identified:
Based on information referenced in published news reports the NYPD is conducting a review to determine if there are any additional complaints relating to the Harvey Weinstein matter.
No filed complaints have been identified as of this time and as always, the NYPD encourages anyone who may have information pertaining to this matter to call the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
It is not known what the ‘additional complaints’ part of that statement means – though it could refer to the initial complaint from Filipina-Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who alleges that Weinstein groped her.
Legal experts told The Guardian that Weinstein could face “five to 25 years in prison on sexual assault charges” if the allegations against him – some of which are at the level of felony rape – go to court.
There’s no intel on whether prosecutors in either country are planning to actually pursue charges against Weinstein, despite the fact that police have confirmed some level of investigation.
We’ll keep you updated.
