Harvey Weinstein is expected to surrender to authorities in New York on Friday to face criminal charges related to allegations of sexual assault.
The move would mark the first criminal charges leveled against the disgraced producer since the start of the #MeToo movement last fall, when dozens of women came forward with accusations against him and other prominent men.
Investigators in New York and Los Angeles have been looking into allegations against Weinstein for months, but these charges are expected to involve allegations by former actor Lucia Evans, according to the Los Angeles Times and Associated Press.
Evans was among the women who told her story in The New Yorker last October, when the magazine—along with the New York Times—published investigations that led to Weinstein’s downfall. In the New Yorker piece, Evans alleged that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a meeting in his office in 2004.
Dozens of women have now accused Weinstein of harassment and assault, and women’s groups, including the Time’s Up movement, have called on authorities to take more action against the former mogul.
In November, New York police detectives also said they were investigating allegations against Weinstein by actor Paz de la Huerta, who said the producer raped her in 2010. It was not immediately clear if Friday’s charges would include allegations related to additional women.
