Convicted rapist and fallen movie producer Harvey Weinstein has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus while in New York State prison.
New York| Law enforcement officials confirmed the diagnosis to Deadline on Sunday. Weinstein is now reportedly in medical isolation at the Wende Correctional Facility in Erie County, New York. Weinstein was recently transferred to the prison east of Buffalo from New York City’s Rikers Island.
He is now in isolation, according to Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.
Harvey was found guilty of rape and sexual assault last month and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
His lawyers have vowed to appeal against his conviction.
Weinstein is being held at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo in upstate New York. Two prisoners at the facility tested positive for the virus on Sunday, an officer who did not wish to give his name told Reuters news agency.
Mr Powers told Reuters that several members of staff had been quarantined. He expressed concern for corrections officers who he claims lack proper protective equipment.
Officials said it is believed Harvey was positive for the virus when he entered the state prison system for Rikers Island, a New York City jail.
Weinstein, 68, is one of two inmates at Wende who have tested positive for COVID-19.
In Los Angeles, he faces charges of rape, oral copulation, sexual penetration by force and sexual battery by restraint. Weinstein could face up to 28 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
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On March 11, Los Angeles County prosecutors said they have “begun the process of extraditing defendant Weinstein to California to face the sexual assault charges that were filed in January. No arraignment date has been set. Once a date has been set, our office will notify the public.”
More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He has denied the allegations, saying any sex was consensual.
He also faces separate sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.
Harvey won an Academy Award for producing Shakespeare in Love and was responsible for other acclaimed films including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Gangs of New York.
(With inputs from agencies)
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