The sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein is to move forward after a US judge dismissed defence claims it is "tainted".

A judge denied a motion by the former movie mogul's team that the case had been "irreparably tainted" by allegations a police detective acted improperly during the investigation.

The investigator is alleged to have coached a potential witness and one of Weinstein's accusers.

Prosecutors say there is plenty of evidence to take the case to trial and, after a brief discussion with the lawyers at the court in Manhattan, Judge James Burke agreed.

The next hearing in the case is set for 7 March.

"We are obviously disappointed that the charges were not dismissed today," Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, told reporters as he left court.

Weinstein, 66, who denies all allegations of non-consensual sex, left without commenting.

He could be jailed for life if convicted.

Weinstein was arrested in May and charged with six counts of sexual assault relating to three different women – including predatory sexual assault, rape and a criminal sexual act.

He was released on bail and pleaded not guilty to the charges allegedly committed in 2004, 2006 and 2013.

The alleged crimes of the former movie producer were exposed by the New York Times in October 2017 in a story which detailed decades of allegations of sexual harassment.

Image: Ashley Judd was among the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein

Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women who come forward to make accusations against him.

In all, nearly 100 women have joined a class-action lawsuit, claiming to be a victim of the Hollywood producer.

More from Harvey Weinstein

The youngest publicly-known victim is 16.

The allegations made against him sparked the #MeToo social media campaign against sex abuse and inequality.

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