NYPD replaces chief who led Weinstein probe

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FILE - Harvey Weinstein arrives to court in New York, Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Weinstein pleaded not guilty Tuesday to rape and criminal sex act charges. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) — The police commander who led the effort to arrest Harvey Weinstein has been removed as the chief of New York City's special victims division.

The NYPD announced Friday that Deputy Chief Judith Harrison is replacing Deputy Chief Michael Osgood as the head of the unit as part of a shake-up that was months in the making. A city watchdog found the unit was stretched too thin to properly investigate sexual assault cases.

Osgood's final weeks in charge of the unit were marred by allegations that a top detective had compromised the Weinstein case.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill signaled changes were coming back in April. He pledged a "top-to-bottom scrub" after a report found that the sex crimes caseload had ballooned by 65 percent since 2009 while staffing levels stayed the same.