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London Police Investigate New Sex Assault Claims Against Harvey Weinstein

October 15, 2017 / 9:34 AM PDT / CBS LA

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) – British police are investigating Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman three times in five years, the Associated Press reports.

The London Metropolitan Police Service is investigating allegations that a woman reported being assaulted by Weinstein in 2010, 2011 and 2015. The alleged victim's name was not released. The force also did not name Weinstein, in keeping with its policy of not identifying suspects who have not been charged. However, it said the allegations involve a man against whom another accusation was made Wednesday. That alleged assault -- reported to have taken place in west London during the late 1980s -- also is being investigated.

British actress Lysette Anthony says she reported to police on Wednesday that Weinstein raped her in her west London home in the late 1980s.

Anthony, 54, who appears on the British soap opera "Hollyoaks," told the Sunday Times newspaper that Weinstein raped her in the late 1980s after showing up at her London home. She said she was left feeling "disgusted and embarrassed" after the attack.

She told the newspaper that Weinstein showed up to her home one morning and "rammed" her up against a coat rack. She said she tried to push him away but he was too heavy. "Finally I just gave up," she said.

"It was pathetic, revolting," she was quoted as saying in a Thursday interview. "I remember lying in the bath later and crying."

On Saturday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors voted to expel Weinstein during an emergency meeting.

The Academy has more than 8,400 members and it has only expelled one member in its 90-year history, "The Godfather" actor Carmine Caridi, who was punished in 2004 after screener copies of movies that were sent to him turned up online.

In a statement, the Academy, the organization behind the Oscars, said far more than two-thirds of its board voted in favor of expulsion.

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"We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over," the Academy wrote. "What's at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society. The Board continues to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify."

Weinstein has been accused over the past week of sexual harassment by a number of actresses. Some allege he appeared naked in front of them, asked them for naked massages or otherwise propositioned them while discussing possible film roles. At least four women, most recently actress Rose McGowan, have accused him of sexual assault.

Weinstein, a 20-year member of the Academy, won an Oscar in 1999 as a producer of best-picture winner "Shakespeare in Love." His companies have also been distributors of Oscar winners "The Artist," "Chicago," "The King's Speech" and "The English Patient."

Some pundits have questioned whether The Academy will expel Weinstein, noting that the organization's membership still includes director Roman Polanski, who is considered a fugitive in Los Angeles for having unlawful sexual contact with a minor in the 1970s, and comedian Bill Cosby, who has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, announced Wednesday it has suspended Weinstein's membership.

"Whilst BAFTA has previously been a beneficiary of Mr. Weinstein's support for its charitable work, it considers the reported alleged behavior completely unacceptable and incompatible with BAFTA's values," according to the organization. "This has led to Mr. Weinstein's suspension, and it will be followed by a formal process as laid out in BAFTA's constitution.

The board of the Producers Guild of America will meet Monday to consider possible action against Weinstein.