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A New York City judge on Friday approved a motion by prosecutors to consolidate the charges in the criminal trial of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Judge James Burke granted the motion in order to “simplify the issues at trial.” Weinstein will now face two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of first-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape.
In granting the motion, Burke allowed prosecutors to merge two indictments against the former Miramax chief and drop two older sexual assault charges against Weinstein and replace them with new ones that were introduced last month.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty on Aug. 26 to two new charges that allege he raped “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra in 1993.
Prosecutors said the new indictment was needed to lay the legal foundation for Sciorra to testify against Weinstein at trial, which is set to begin Jan. 6.
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Weinstein’s case involves allegations from several women. He has denied all accusations of nonconsensual sex.
Fox News’ Marta Dhanis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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