Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to a new indictment filed by New York prosecutors, pushing his trial on sexual assault allegations to early next year.

A grand jury on Monday returned the indictment that adds two additional charges of predatory sexual assault against the 67-year-old. The move will allow accuser Annabella Sciorra, an actress best known for appearing in The Sopranos, to allege in court that Weinstein raped her at her Manhattan apartment in the winter of 1993-1994, bolstering the case against the former Miramax executive.

Weinsteins trial, previously scheduled for Sept. 9, has been pushed back to Jan. 6.

Under state law, Sciorras specific accusation is too old to be prosecuted independently. But prosecutors say her testimony on the stand can be used to support predatory sexual assault charges that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. In order to secure a conviction on such a charge, the prosecution team must prove that Weinstein committed sexual assaults against two or more people.

The team already had their minimum of two people: former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and another woman who has remained anonymous. Their accusations center on alleged instances of sexual assault occurring in July 2006 and March 2013, respectively.

The decision to ask the grand jury to consider a new indictment so close to the originally proposed trial date was considered highly unusual possibly an ominous sign for the prosecution.

In documents released Monday, the state noted that three additional women will also testify against Weinstein about alleged sexual assaults. Although there are no charges attached to their accusations, their words will be used to establish a pattern of criminal conduct similar to the strategy successfully used by attorneys against comedian Bill Cosby.