(IMAGE: Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. by SAFFIE 55/WikiCommons)
[UPDATED] Police in both New York and London are reportedly investigating Harvey Weinstein’s pattern of alleged sexual abuse to see if charges can be brought.
The NYPD has launched an aggressive criminal investigation into the sexual assault allegations surrounding the disgraced movie mogul, according to multiple reports.
On Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce ordered investigators in the NYPD’s Special Victims Division “to endeavor to identify and locate and interview any potential [Weinstein] victims,” claims the New York Post.
The unnamed source referred to Weinstein as a “super predator,” and stated that, given the increasingly well-documented history of Weinstein’s alleged abuses, there is a strong likelihood that prosecutable leads will be uncovered. “He’s been at this so long, there’s no way there are not other victims out there,” the source said.
“The Metropolitan Police Service was passed an allegation of sexual assault by Merseyside Police on Wednesday, 11 October,” Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. “The allegation will be assessed by officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command.”
The suspect has been widely reported to be Harvey Weinstein. Metropolitan Police policy “does not identify any person who may, or may not be, subject to an investigation,” the statement said. While the Met division in question investigates both sexual assault and child molestation, no evidence has so far surfaced linking Weinstein to an assault on a child.
The new New York investigation comes in an atmosphere of increasing outrage over District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s failure to file charges in 2015, when Italian model Ambra Battilana reported an alleged groping incident to the NYPD. Battalina subsequently wore a wire for investigators and Weinstein was caught on tape, seemingly apologizing for his behavior by claiming “it’s what I’m used to.”
Despite the recorded evidence and descriptions from investigators of Battalina’s “distraught” condition when she approached them, Vance’s office dismissed the case, stating “after analyzing the available evidence, including multiple interviews with both parties, a criminal charge is not supported.”
Two weeks after the charges were dropped, Vance’s re-election campaign accepted a $10,000.00 donation from David Boies, an attorney linked to Weinstein. Both Vance and Boies, who claims he did not represent Weinstein during the 2015 criminal investigation, deny a connection.