Harvey Weinstein charged with rape over attacks on two women after handing himself in to New York authorities

More than 70 women have accused the film producer of sexual misconduct, including rape

The plunge into disgrace of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood played out in a New York courtroom, as Harvey Weinstein was charged with rape and sexual assault, having first been made to a complete a “perp walk” before waiting cameras.

Eight months after a series of allegations of assault and rape were first levelled at the 66-year-old in the media, the producer of films such as Shakesperare in Love and The English Patient was charged with first-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sex act, relating to two alleged incidents with different women.

Mr Weinstein was not asked to enter a plea, but his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said on Friday he would fight to get the charges dismissed, claiming they were factually unsupported and constitutionally flawed.

Mr Weinstein, whose personal connections reached through the entertainment world to politics and business, had been ordered to appear by New York Police Department officers working with federal prosecutors. At around 7.30am, he pulled up outside the First Police Precinct in TriBeCa. Cameras glinted in the sunlight as the amassed global media waited for the producer to arrive and make the short walk from his car and through the large double doors of the station.

As Mr Weinstein arrived, he was carrying three books. The title of one of them could not be read but the others were Elia Kazan: A Biography, by Richard Schickel, and Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution, by Todd Purdum.

If the impression Mr Weinstein sought to project to the world was of a humane man inextricably associated with the arts and creativity, this did not last long; 90 minutes later, having been fingerprinted and formally booked, he emerged to the noise of more camera flashes, his arms pinned behind his back in handcuffs, and was driven by police to a nearby court.

At the court in the city’s Centre Street, Joan Illuzzi, the lead prosecutor, read the charges against him: first-degree rape and third-degree rape in one case, and first-degree criminal sex act in another.

“This defendant used his position, money and power to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually,” Ms lluzzi-Orbon told the court, according to the Associated Press. The news agency said that Mr Weinstein, who had been staring ahead, grimaced and raised his eyebrows as he heard her words.

The details of the victims have not been made public. The rape charges against Mr Weinstein related to a woman who was not identified and does not appear to be among the people who have told their stories publicly. A court complaint says Mr Weinstein confined her in a Manhattan hotel room and raped her in 2013.

Meanwhile, it is believed the criminal sex act charge stems from an alleged 2004 encounter between Mr Weinstein and Lucia Evans, a then-aspiring actress who has said the Hollywood power broker forced her to perform a sex act on him during a daytime meeting in his office.

Her lawyer, Carrie Goldberg, said in a statement: “This is an emotional moment. We are relieved and grateful that justice is coming, but we also mourn the cases where it didn’t.”

While Mr Weinstein was charged over two alleged offences, one of which carries a penalty of up to 25 years, more than 75 women have accused him of wrongdoing, and authorities in California and London are also investigating assault allegations.

The initial allegations last October, led to an outpouring of accusations of sexual assault and harassment, not only against Mr Weinstein, but numerous other high-profile figures in the world of business, the arts and the media. Many were fired as a result.

The flood helped trigger the #MeToo movement where women, and men, shared stories of sexual harassment and assault on social media.

After Mr Weinstein appeared, Mr Brafman sought to attack his client’s accusers, noting that the alleged attacks were not reported to police when they happened and suggesting potential jurors would not believe the women, “assuming we get 12 fair people who are not consumed by the movement that seems to have overtaken this case”, he said.

Asked about the slew of accusations spanning decades and continents, Mr Brafman said that “bad behaviour is not on trial in this case”.

He added: “Mr Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood, and to the extent that there is bad behaviour in that industry, that is not what this is about.”

Mr Weinstein was released on $1m (£750,000) bail, with constant electronic monitoring and a ban on travelling beyond New York and Connecticut. He left through a courthouse back door less than three hours after his arrest.