Following the announcement by the prosecution that they would not pursue the counts involving one of Harvey Weinstein‘s accusers, the judge in the Los Angeles trial of the movie mogul dismissed four of the 11 sexual offence accusations against him on Tuesday.
The 70-year-old Weinstein’s charges of two counts of forcible rape and two counts of forceful oral copulation were rejected by Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench.
Since the trial’s opening remarks three weeks ago, when the prosecution only mentioned four of the accusers who Weinstein was accused of assaulting or raping while omitting the accuser listed as Jane Doe #5, the move had seemed imminent.
While Weinstein’s defence wanted a clear answer on the matter, the prosecution first upheld the allegations and left the option of the woman testifying openly.
The decision to exclude the woman from the trial was made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, although no justification has been given for this decision.
Two counts of rape and five other counts of sexual assault are the outstanding charges against Weinstein, who is now serving a 23-year sentence following a conviction in New York.
He has asserted his innocence and denied having extramarital sex.
