Film producer Harvey Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in the United States     [File: Reuters]

London, June 10 (RHC)-- British prosecutors have authorized charges to be brought against former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein on two counts of indecent assault against a woman 26 years ago.

“Charges have been authorized against Harvey Weinstein, 70, following a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” said Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The offences are alleged to have taken place in London between July 31 and August 31, 1996.   London’s Metropolitan Police said the accusation involved a woman, now aged in her 50s.

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in the United States after being convicted in 2020 of assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.  That conviction was upheld by a New York appeals court last week.

In total, nearly 90 women including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek have accused Weinstein of harassment or assault.  The Pulp Fiction producer has maintained that all his sexual encounters were consensual, of course.

The verdict against the former Hollywood mogul was considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement where women came forward to accuse dozens of powerful men of sexual misconduct.