Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault case has been thrown into further disarray after he was hit with two new charges and a judge delayed his trial by four months.

The movie mogul faced a Manhattan court on Monday to plead not guilty to an indictment that adds two new charges of predatory sexual assault to his upcoming New York trial.

The tweak to the case was intended to open the door for Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra to testify against Weinstein in the trial that has now been delayed until early next year.

Weinstein has previously pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.

Sciorra has claimed that Weinstein raped her inside her Manhattan apartment after she starred in a film for his movie studio in 1993.

Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty on Monday to an indictment that adds two new charges of predatory sexual assault to his upcoming New York trial

Weinstein, who is free on $1 million bail, has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.

Sciorra is not being added as a victim in the case because the alleged attack took place too long ago to be prosecuted under state law.

But prosecutors want to use her testimony to prove that Weinstein had a pattern of assaulting woman, which is key to proving predatory sexual assault.

This is the strongest charge against Weinstein and carries a life sentence if he is convicted.

Prosecutors had said the new indictment was needed to lay the legal foundation for Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra (above) to testify against Weinstein in his upcoming sexual assault trial

The development caused Judge James Burke to delay the start of his trial until January 6.

Weinstein will be indicted on the two new charges but they will likely be consolidated with existing charges in the coming weeks.

His lawyers said afterwards that the decision showed that the prosecution was 'desperate'.

Attorney Donna Rotunno said that it was a 'good day for Mr Weinstein' and that they were going to 'file motions to dismiss this new indictment'.

'The case itself is weak and they feel like they need this portion to help it,' Rotunno said.

Court papers filed by the defense had earlier called the attempt to make Sciorra a prosecution witness an '11th-hour maneuver' that 'raises significant legal issues' that could delay the trial by several weeks.

Sciorra's attorney Gloria Allred said that she spoke to the police because it was 'in the interests of justice' despite the stress and anxiety it was causing her.

During the hearing Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said there were 'no surprises here, nothing new here' about the new charges.

She said that they wanted to consolidate them with the two existing counts of the same crime and that they were ready to move forward with the September 9 trial date.

Rotunno objected and asked for the full 45 days to respond as Weinstein is entitled to in response to a new indictment.

Weinstein walked out of court on Monday clutching his hands behind his back despite his hands not being cuffed

The movie mogul entered the not guilty plea on Monday in a Manhattan courtroom

Weinstein is now accused of two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count each of first degree rape and third-degree rape.

They relate to allegedly raping an unidentified woman in his hotel room in 2013 and forcing himself on Mimi Haleyi, a production assistant, at his apartment in 2006.

The new indictment from Monday only mentions allegations made by Haleyi and the unnamed woman.

However, the prosecution's voluntary disclosure form states under 'Bill of Particulars' that an additional incident of Weinstein's alleged predatory sexual behavior occurred in Winter 1993/1994 at Sciorra's New York apartment.

The prosecution disclosure form also has new details about the other women who will be called to testify about Weinstein's behavior - they are known as 'molyneux' witnesses.

Such tactics were used by prosecutors in Bill Cosby's retrial which resulted in a conviction - the first without other accusers was a mistrial - and resulted in him being convicted.

One of the women says she was raped by Weinstein in February 2013 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, allegations which match up with those of an unnamed Italian model and actress.

The 38-year-old has told the Los Angeles Times that Weinstein 'bullied my way into my hotel room' after she attended Italia Film, Fashion and Art Festival.

She claimed to have said no but Weinstein 'became 'very aggressive' and dragged her into the bathroom by her hair and 'forcibly raped me'.

Weinstein has previously pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006

Weinstein's attorney Donna Rotunno (left) said that it was a 'good day for Mr Weinstein' and that they were going to 'file motions to dismiss this new indictment'

The other women claim that Weinstein forced himself her in the Spring of 2004 at a hotel near Park Avenue in Manhattan.

The third claims that he did the same in late Spring 2005 in Soho in New York.

The hearing on Monday was the latest twist in Weinstein's case and comes after prosecutors dropped one allegation against him related to actress Lucia Evans.

She alleged Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004.

However, an unsealed letter from the prosecutors suggests that she admitted to a friend that she gave Weinstein oral sex in exchange for a job in acting and flashed her breasts at him.

Weinstein has cycled through a string of high profile lawyers and Ben Brafman, who used to represent him, claimed that police misconduct has tainted the entire case.

Judge Burke has allowed prosecutors to use testimony from other women but their names have been kept secret.

Separately, defense attorneys are asking appeals court to move the trial case out of New York City because a 'circus-like atmosphere' there fueled by news reports and social media posts.

Weinstein's trial will be a defining moment of the #MeToo movement as the allegations against him started what became a wave of claims against powerful men around the world.

He was outed in articles in the New York Times and the New Yorker in 2017 after which his movie empire collapsed and his wife divorced him.

Dozens of actresses including Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek have accused him of inappropriate behavior or sexual assault.