Harvey Weinstein cases to be consolidated into single trial, will likely occur in spring

NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge on Wednesday granted a motion by prosecutors to combine Harvey Weinstein's retrial on sex crimes charges with his trial on a new charge of forcing oral sex on a woman in 2006.

Prosecutors convinced Judge Curtis Farber to consolidate the cases into a single trial in part by arguing separate trials would be "extraordinarily inefficient."

Farber did not set a new trial date but suggested it would likely occur in the spring, displeasing the defense, which had hoped for a quicker resolution.

Weinstein is next due in court Jan. 29.

He appeared in court in a wheelchair Wednesday following his recent bone marrow cancer diagnosis.

Weinstein is currently being held in prison on Rikers Island in New York, where he has experienced a slew of health issues amid his ongoing sexual assault trials.

He has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.

He pleaded not guilty to the new charge, based on the 2006 incident, last month.

"Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody," his attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters outside the courthouse following the arraignment on Sept. 19.

He is also charged in a previous New York State Supreme Court indictment with criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.