Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was
convicted in New York City of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual
act.
The 67-year-old was cleared of the most serious count of predatory sexual
assault. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
Harvey Weinstein still faces charges in Los Angeles of assaulting two women
in 2013.
At least 80 women had accused him of misconduct stretching back decades,
including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
The allegations were at the center of the #MeToo movement that inspired
women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.
Haevey Weinstein once enjoyed phenomenal success with Oscar winners such Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, The King’s
Speech and Shakespeare in Love.
The jury of seven men and five women reached their verdict on February 24,
the fifth day of deliberations.
Harvey Weinstein – who denied all charges – was convicted of assaulting
former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a
former aspiring actress, in 2013. The judge ordered him sent to jail
immediately.
However, the jury acquitted him on
two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carried a potential life
sentence, and first-degree rape of Jessica Mann.
In the minutes after the verdict, Harvey
Weinstein showed no emotion as he talked to his lead lawyer Donna Rotunno. He
will be sentenced on March 11.
The third-degree rape charge in New
York is defined as engaging in intercourse with a person who is incapable of
consent, or under age 17, or who has not given consent for a reason other than
the inability to consent.
Prosecutors portrayed Harvey Weinstein
as a serial predator who used his position of power in Hollywood to manipulate
and attack women.
The defense team said intercourse between
Harvey Weinstein and the accusers was consensual, and that the accusers used
the relations to advance their careers. The allegations amounted to “regret
renamed as rape”, the defense said. Two of the accusers kept in contact
with Harvey Weinstein and had intimate relations with him after the alleged
attacks, they pointed out.
Mimi Haleyi, who had worked on one of Harvey Weinstein’s TV productions,
said she was assaulted by the producer after he invited her to his Lower
Manhattan home.
Jessica Mann said that she found
herself in an “extremely degrading” relationship with him that did
not involve intercourse until he raped her in a New York City hotel room in
2013.
She said he was a “Jekyll and
Hyde” figure who could be charming in public but showed his dark side when
they were alone.
Another one of Harvey Weinstein’s
accusers, actress Annabella Sciorra, told jurors he raped her in her apartment
one night in the mid-1990s.
Her allegation was too old to be
charged as a separate crime, but prosecutors used it in an attempt to
demonstrate that the accused was a repeat offender.
Following the verdict, Annabella
Sciorra said: “I spoke for myself
and with the strength of the 80-plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my
heart.”
Three other also women testified they were lured to apparent work meetings
with Harvey Weinstein, then assaulted.
Donna Rotunno told reporters outside the courthouse: “The fight is not over…Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it
like a man and he knows we will continue to fight for him and he knows that
this is not over.”
The lawyer said her client was disappointed, but “mentally tough”.
The judge in the Harvey Weinstein trial has
warned the lead defense lawyer, Donna Rotunno, not to talk to the press, after
she penned an opinion piece on February 15.
Writing in Newsweek, Donna Rotunno
called on jurors to “do what they know is right”.
However, Donna Rotunno told Justice James Burke the piece was not intended
to address the jury directly.
The row came before the jury of seven men and five women were sent away to
try to reach a verdict.
The jury has now finished the deliberations for the day, after asking for
clarification of legal terms and for plans of the apartment where one of the
alleged assaults took place.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to assaulting
former production assistant Mimi (Miriam) Haleyi and raping former actress
Jessica Mann.
The trial began in New York in January.
Accusations of misconduct against
Harvey Weinstein by dozens of women helped drive the #MeToo movement.
Only two of the accusers’ cases,
those of Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann, have led to individual criminal charges
in New York, but the testimony of others is being used as supporting evidence.
Judge James Burke instructed jurors
on February 18 before they retired to consider their verdict.
As the court session opened, prosecutors asked the judge to instruct jurors
to ignore the Newsweek piece as it
was “100% inappropriate”.
The judge refused the prosecutors’ request, but restated a ban he imposed at
the beginning of the trial on both defense and prosecution from giving media
interviews.
He told Donna Rotunno: “I would
caution you about the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut.”
She responded: “This is an op-ed
about the jury system as a whole, about the criminal justice system as a
whole.”
In the Newsweek piece, Donna
Rotunno accused her opponents of trying to influence the trial.
She wrote: “The mocking of Mr.
Weinstein’s walker, the unflattering courtroom-artist sketches of his body, the
countless critical op-eds and biased stories, and the convenient timing of the
politically-motivated charges in Los Angeles were all designed to pre-determine
his guilt.”
Adding: “I implore the members of
this jury to do what they know is right and was expected of them from the
moment they were called upon to serve their civic duty in a court of law.”
However, Judge Burke asked the defense:
“You don’t think addressing the jury in the first person isn’t
problematic?”
Prosecutors have argued Harvey Weinstein was a “seasoned” predator
who preyed on aspiring young actresses.
The 67-year-old’s defense team said his actions were consensual, including
in one “loving” relationship. They also said prosecutors had failed
to present any forensic evidence or eyewitness accounts.
Harvey Weinstein denies five charges, including rape and assault, relating
to two accusers. The jury must reach unanimous verdicts on each count.
The Hollywood mogul, who never took the stand during the trial, could face
life behind bars if convicted.
Once one of Hollywood’s most decorated and lauded producers, Harvey Weinstein
has been accused of misconduct by more than 80 women.
However, few of the
The judge in the Harvey Weinstein trial has
warned the lead defense lawyer, Donna Rotunno, not to talk to the press, after
she penned an opinion piece on February 15.
Writing in Newsweek, Donna Rotunno
called on jurors to “do what they know is right”.
However, Donna Rotunno told Justice James Burke the piece was not intended
to address the jury directly.
The row came before the jury of seven men and five women were sent away to
try to reach a verdict.
The jury has now finished the deliberations for the day, after asking for
clarification of legal terms and for plans of the apartment where one of the
alleged assaults took place.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to assaulting
former production assistant Mimi (Miriam) Haleyi and raping former actress
Jessica Mann.
The trial began in New York in January.
Accusations of misconduct against
Harvey Weinstein by dozens of women helped drive the #MeToo movement.
Only two of the accusers’ cases,
those of Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann, have led to individual criminal charges
in New York, but the testimony of others is being used as supporting evidence.
Judge James Burke instructed jurors
on February 18 before they retired to consider their verdict.
As the court session opened, prosecutors asked the judge to instruct jurors
to ignore the Newsweek piece as it
was “100% inappropriate”.
The judge refused the prosecutors’ request, but restated a ban he imposed at
the beginning of the trial on both defense and prosecution from giving media
interviews.
He told Donna Rotunno: “I would
caution you about the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut.”
She responded: “This is an op-ed
about the jury system as a whole, about the criminal justice system as a
whole.”
In the Newsweek piece, Donna
Rotunno accused her opponents of trying to influence the trial.
She wrote: “The mocking of Mr.
Weinstein’s walker, the unflattering courtroom-artist sketches of his body, the
countless critical op-eds and biased stories, and the convenient timing of the
politically-motivated charges in Los Angeles were all designed to pre-determine
his guilt.”
Adding: “I implore the members of
this jury to do what they know is right and was expected of them from the
moment they were called upon to serve their civic duty in a court of law.”
However, Judge Burke asked the defense:
“You don’t think addressing the jury in the first person isn’t
problematic?”
Prosecutors have argued Harvey Weinstein was a “seasoned” predator
who preyed on aspiring young actresses.
The 67-year-old’s defense team said his actions were consensual, including
in one “loving” relationship. They also said prosecutors had failed
to present any forensic evidence or eyewitness accounts.
Harvey Weinstein denies five charges, including rape and assault, relating
to two accusers. The jury must reach unanimous verdicts on each count.
The Hollywood mogul, who never took the stand during the trial, could face
life behind bars if convicted.
Once one of Hollywood’s most decorated and lauded producers, Harvey Weinstein
has been accused of misconduct by more than 80 women.
However, few of the complaints have led to criminal charges.
complaints have led to criminal charges.
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