New York: As disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein leaves court, his lawyer says sex assault charges aren't supported by evidence.
"Mr Weinstein will enter a plea of not guilty," Ben Brafman told reporters outside the Manhattan court where his disgraced Hollywood mogul client briefly appeared before a judge to post bail.
"We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges. We believe that they are constitutionally flawed. We believe that they are not factually supported by the evidence."
Weinstein was arraigned on rape and sex crime charges in Manhattan court Friday with bail set at $1 million (Dh3.67 million) cash and was ordered to be fitted with a monitoring device.
Under the previously agreed bail package, Weinstein's travel will be restricted to New York and the neighboring state of Connecticut, and he has agreed to surrender his passport. The case has been adjourned until July 30.
Weinstein was charged Friday with rape in the first and third degrees, and a criminal sex act against two women in 2013 and 2004 respectively, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said. "Today's charges reflect significant progress in this active, ongoing investigation," said District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
He thanked "brave survivors" who had come forward and urged others to call a sex crimes hotline.
Earlier in the day, Weinstein surrendered to authorities.
Police announced in a brief statement that at the downtown Manhattan station, he was "arrested, processed and charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two separate women."
More than 70 women have accused the co-founder of the Miramax film studio and Weinstein Co of sexual misconduct, including rape, with some allegations dating back decades.
The accusations, first reported by the New York Times and the New Yorker last year, gave rise to the #MeToo movement in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of misconduct.
Weinstein arrived at the station house shortly at about 7:25 a.m. EDT (1125 GMT) wearing a dark jacket over a blue sweater and white open-collared shirt and dark denim jeans, carrying what appeared to be three thick books under his right arm.
Police officers escorted him inside as scores of journalists pushed up against barricades for pictures, while three police helicopters circled overhead.
Weinstein is expected to be charged with raping one woman and forcing another to perform oral sex on him, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified law enforcement officials.
Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
Weinstein's spokesman Juda Engelmayer and his lawyer Benjamin Brafman both declined to comment to Reuters on Thursday on the imminent charges.
The charges follow a months-long investigation that involved the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The victim in the rape case has not been identified, the Times reported, but Weinstein will be charged with first-degree and third-degree rape. The other case involves allegations by Lucia Evans, a former aspiring actress who told the New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to give him oral sex in 2004, the Times reported.
