Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to rape charges NBC NEWS

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to rape and criminal sex act charges.

Wearing a navy suit, Weinstein appeared before a Manhattan judge after a grand jury last week charged him with raping a woman in a hotel in 2013 and forcing another to perform oral sex on him after a meeting in his office in 2004
click on the images to see larger 

Weinstein said little other than "yes" when asked questions by State Supreme Court Justice James Burke.

His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said the fallen mogul intends "to vigorously defend his case."

During the hearing, Brafman also apologized to the court for his repeated use of the phrase "casting couch" in speaking to the media and promised to "never use it again."

Last month, after Weinstein's arraignment last month, Brafman told reporters, "Mr. Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood," adding that “bad behavior is not on trial in this case.”

Harvey Weinstein seated in the arraignment court, after he was arrested surrounded by NYPD Detectives and NYS Court Officers 

Artwork by Elizabeth Williams 

Story link: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/harvey-weinstein-pleads-not-guilty-rape-charges-n880161