In Los Angeles, Harvey Weinstein entered a not guilty plea to 11 sex-crime counts. upon his extradition from New York

In Los Angeles, Harvey Weinstein entered a not guilty plea to 11 sex-crime counts. upon his extradition from New York

Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul-turned-convicted sex offender, pleaded not guilty to new sex-crime charges in Los Angeles on Wednesday, the morning after he was transported to California, thus ending his attempt to prevent or postpone extradition.

Weinstein, 69, is charged with 11 counts of criminal sexual assault, including forcible rape, against five women in encounters that took place mostly in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles hotels between 2004 and 2008.

According to the Associated Press, Weinstein was wheeled into court by sheriff's officers. He was dressed in a tan prison uniform with a mask on his face. Mark Werksman, his Los Angeles attorney, entered the plea on his behalf. 

As the session came to a close, Weinstein merely said "thank you" to Judge Sergio Tapia, who wished him success.

Weinstein, who was photographed landing in Burbank on a tiny aircraft on Tuesday afternoon, was booked into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

According to his arrest record, he is being detained on $5 million bails.

Weinstein came to California after doing time at the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo in New York. After being convicted of two sex offenses in Manhattan in 2020, including first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape, he has been serving a 23-year sentence.

Weinstein has maintained his denial of any non-consensual sex in the New York case, and he has filed an appeal with a New York appellate court.

On the first day of his Manhattan trial in January 2020, Weinstein was indicted in Los Angeles on the first of five sex crime counts. A grand jury brought six more charges in October 2020.

He faces four counts of rape, four counts of forceful oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, and one act of sexual penetration by force, all of which carry a maximum penalty of 140 years in prison if he is convicted.

Weinstein's legal team attempted to stop or at least postpone his transfer after his conviction and incarceration in the New York case, but they were unsuccessful.

"Mr. Harvey Weinstein's custody was given over to the proper officials this morning at around 9:25 a.m. for transfer to the state of California per a court order," says a statement from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision emailed to USA TODAY Tuesday.

Weinstein and his legal team were "disappointed," according to Weinstein's spokeswoman, Juda Engelmayer, after failing to reach a deal with prosecutors last month to waive the transfer.

"We are unhappy that the LA DA did not wait for the judge's judgment," the statement stated, "but we did anticipate this to happen at some time." "We will battle to see that Harvey receives the medical treatment he requires, as well as to ensure that he is treated fairly."

"He still has the right to due process, the presumption of innocent, and a fair trial."

Weinstein's attorneys said he recognized that he would ultimately be sent to Los Angeles, but said he wanted to postpone the extradition so that he could receive medical treatment for a variety of diseases, at least until jury selection in the Los Angeles trial began. He also mentioned the coronavirus epidemic, which is resurfacing in California, particularly in Los Angeles County.

However, on June 15, an Erie County court gave his approval, and prosecutors predicted that the transfer would take place by mid-July. Following a series of hearings that began in 2020, Weinstein's legal team was able to persuade the judge to grant extensions.

According to Greg Risling, a spokesman for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's office, prosecutors must now bring him to trial within 120 days.

The action was hailed by several of Weinstein's many accusers and detractors in the #MeToo movement. Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles lawyer who represented several of his victims in the New York trial and is currently representing two accusers in the Los Angeles case, said his extradition is "far time."

"Justice has been delayed in Los Angeles," she told USA TODAY, "but it will not be denied to the brave accusers who are prepared to testify in this criminal prosecution."

According to Elizabeth Fegan, several accusers' lawyers, including one in the Los Angeles case, applauded the outcome.

In a statement to USA TODAY, she added, "The chance to hold Weinstein accountable for his acts in California provides a voice to the survivors." "They deserve to be heard and for Weinstein to be held accountable for his acts; our goal is that a guilty judgment in California will guarantee that Harvey Weinstein spends the rest of his life in prison, ensuring justice for all women."