Harvey Weinstein Gets Rare Good News in Court

Harvey Weinstein still faces charges of sexual assault, but he now faces one fewer of them. A judge in Manhattan on Thursday dismissed the allegations brought against the former Hollywood mogul by one of three women, reports Variety. An actress named Lucia Evans had accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex, but defense lawyers said she offered conflicting accounts and accused prosecutors of failing to disclose a witness capable of casting doubt on the claims. The upshot is that Judge James Burke agreed to dismiss one of six criminal charges against Weinstein.

"We are moving full-steam ahead," prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the judge after the development. Weinstein attorney Benjamin Brafman told reporters that Evans should be prosecuted for perjury, accusing her of lying to authorities and to the New Yorker, which first brought her allegations to light. "This is not about victim shaming," said Brafman, per the AP. Evans' attorney, meanwhile, said the judge's decision does not "invalidate the truth of her claims." (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)