Harvey Weinstein Ducked Charges After NYC Model Accused Him Of Groping, Report Says

NEW YORK CITY — Disgraced movie magnate Harvey Weinstein wasn't prosecuted for allegedly groping an Italian model in Manhattan two years ago even after an undercover NYPD investigation, according to a new report by The Daily Beast. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance didn't charge Weinstein in early 2015 despite police bringing evidence "stronger than is routinely needed to convict less illustrious gropers in the subway," the story says.

The case involved Ambra Battilana, a then-22-year-old model whom Weinstein allegedly groped in his TriBeCa office in March 2015, The Daily Beast reported.

Battilana met with Weinstein the next day with an NYPD detective recording their interaction to catch Weinstein in the act, the report says. Battilana backed away, but the NYPD brought the case to Vance's office, which " knocked it around about a week," an unnamed police commander told The Daily Beast.

Watch: The Weinstein Co. Is Trying To Distance Itself From Harvey

A spokeswoman for Vance later said, "After analyzing the available evidence, including multiple interviews with both parties, a criminal charge is not supported," the story says.

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Weinstein admits to groping Battilana in a recording from the sting that The New Yorker published Tuesday with a new story further detailing allegations against him. But Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, Vance's chief assistant DA, told Patch that cops didn't get on tape what they needed to show Weinstein intended to commit a crime — and prosecutors couldn't get that proof themselves.

"If we could have prosecuted Harvey Weinstein for the conduct that occurred in 2015, we would have," Friedman-Agnifilo said in a statement. "Mr. Weinstein’s pattern of mistreating women, as recounted in recent reports, is disgraceful and shocks the conscience."

The NYPD issued a statement Tuesday night rebutting Vance's office, saying "experienced" Special Victims Unit detectives handled the case using "well established investigative techniques."

"The recorded conversation with the subject corroborates the acts that were the basis for the victim's complaint to the police a day earlier,"' the NYPD said. "This follow-up recorded conversation was just one aspect of the case against the subject. This evidence, along with other statements and timeline information was presented to the office of the Manhattan District Attorney."

The Daily Beast story comes on the heels of last week's New York Times report that Weinstein has paid millions of dollars in settlements to women who accused him of sexual harassment. Battilana was reportedly one of them.

A lawyer tied to Weinstein, David Boies, gave $10,000 to Vance's Democratic political campaign about two months after the Battilana case was dropped, the International Business Times reported last week. A spokeswoman for Vance told the website that Boies didn't represent Weinstein in that case.

Vance also declined to prosecute Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump for misleading investors after getting a campaign donation from Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz, The New Yorker, WNYC and ProPublica reported last week. Vance told the outlets that the investigation never turned up enough evidence, and that the donation was returned.

Read the full report from The Daily Beast here.

(This story has been updated to include the NYPD's statement. Lead image by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)