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Entertainment

Weinstein convicted of sex assault, rape in 'new era' for #MeToo

Peter Hutchison - Agence France-Presse
Weinstein convicted of sex assault, rape in 'new era' for #MeToo
Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court, on February 24, 2020 in New York City. The jury in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial hinted it was struggling to reach agreement on the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault as day four of deliberations ended February 21, 2020 without a verdict. The 12 jurors asked New York state Judge James Burke whether they could be hung on one or both of the top counts but unanimous on the three lesser counts. The disgraced movie mogul, 67, faces life in prison if the jury of seven men and five women convict him of a variety of sexual misconduct charges in New York.
AFP / Johannes Eisele

NEW YORK, United States — Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of rape and sexual assault but acquitted of the most serious predatory charges, a verdict hailed as a historic victory by the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct.

The 67-year-old was remanded in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail after the jury of seven men and five women found the once powerful Hollywood producer guilty of criminal sexual acts in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

Oscar-winner Weinstein, whose films included "Shakespeare In Love," was found not guilty of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault, charges that could have seen him jailed for life.

But he faces up to 29 years in prison on the two felony convictions. 

The ashen-faced defendant, who attended the trial hunched over a walker, showed little emotion after the verdict was delivered to a packed New York courtroom. He was taken into custody pending sentencing, which was scheduled for March 11.

His lawyer Arthur Aidala said a "shocked" Weinstein was muttering 'I'm innocent, I'm innocent. How could this happen in America?'"

Lead attorney Donna Rotunno promised an appeal, saying "the fight is not over" and applauded Weinstein for taking the decision "like a man."

The mixed verdict offered a large measure of vindication for the dozens of women who made allegations against him.

It was the most high-profile sex assault conviction in the United States since Bill Cosby was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years prior. 

The Time's Up foundation, formed in the wake of the Weinstein case, celebrated the outcome as marking "a new era of justice."

"Abusers everywhere and the powerful forces that protect them should be on notice: There's no going back," it said in a statement.

Manhattan's top prosecutor Cyrus Vance praised the women who testified against Weinstein as having changed "the course of history."

"This is the new landscape for sexual violence survivors. This is a new day," Vance told reporters outside the New York courthouse.

"We all owe an immense debt to you, who had the courage beyond measure to speak your story to the world, to the courtroom, at great personal risk, and in great personal pain."

'Public service'

More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since allegations against him ignited a global reckoning against men abusing positions of power in October 2017.

But with many claims too old to prosecute, the jury considered charges related to just two: ex-actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Mimi Haleyi.

The predatory sexual assault charges included testimony from "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment in the winter of 1993-94.

Six women took the stand to say they had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

They were subjected to ferocious cross-examination as Weinstein's defense team argued that his relationships were consensual and transactional.

The prosecution cast Weinstein as a conniving predator who demanded sex in exchange for access to the film universe where he reigned, but presented no forensic evidence or third-party witness accounts.

The state's case instead rested on asking the jury to believe the women.

Ashley Judd, who has said Weinstein destroyed her film career after she rejected his sexual advances, tweeted thanks after the verdict dropped.

"For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you," she said.

Next stop, LA

Weinstein, who has always said his sexual relations were consensual, was charged with raping former actress Mann in the DoubleTree hotel in midtown Manhattan in 2013.

He was also charged with forcing oral sex on former production assistant Haleyi at his New York apartment in July 2006 while she was on her period.

The charges of predatory sexual assault, a serious sex crime committed against more than one person, were the most grave and carried a sentence of life in prison.

For the jury to convict Weinstein of that they would have had to believe either Mann or Haleyi plus Sciorra.

Sciorra's allegation was too old to be prosecuted as an individual crime but she was included in the indictment to bolster the predatory sexual assault charge.

Sciorra said in a statement Monday that her testimony had been "painful but necessary," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ex-model Lauren Young told the court Weinstein sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013 when she was a 22-year-old aspiring actress.

Eyes now turn to Los Angeles, where Young's allegations form part of a separate sex crimes investigation against Weinstein being carried out by prosecutors in the California city.

They accuse him of raping an Italian model in February 2013 and of assaulting Young the following night.

vuukle comment

HARVEY WEINSTEIN

HOLLYWOOD

ME TOO

As It Happens
LATEST UPDATE: September 23, 2023 - 2:00pm

PBS says more witnesses have detailed sexual misconduct allegations against talk-show host Tavis Smiley, who was suspended in December and later fired.

The filing Tuesday also said he subjected subordinates to unwanted sexual advances — including requests for specific sex acts — and made lewd jokes. — AP

September 23, 2023 - 2:00pm

British comedian and actor Russell Brand speaks of an "extraordinary and distressing week" in his first public comments since rape and assault allegations were aired against him, but did not address the claims.

"Obviously it's been an extraordinary and distressing week and I thank you very much for your support and for questioning the information you are being presented with," he says on a video posted to his YouTube channel, which has 6.64 million subscribers.

"I need your support now more than ever, more than I ever imagined I would," he adds. — AFP

June 15, 2023 - 6:03pm

Nine women accuse Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them decades ago in a lawsuit filed in Nevada, after the US state dropped its statute of limitations on civil sexual abuse cases.

The lawsuit says the US comedian had used his "enormous power, fame and prestige" to isolate and sexually assault the women.

The women were each allegedly assaulted between 1979 and 1992 in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Reno homes, hotels and dressing rooms. — AFP

February 24, 2023 - 8:10am

Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in prison for the rape of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room a decade ago.

The sentence was handed down by a Los Angeles court. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence for his separate 2020 conviction in New York for sex crimes.

The Academy Award-winning "Shakespeare in Love" producer, 70, is appealing in both cases. — AFP

February 10, 2023 - 10:42am

A woman who was raped a decade ago by Harvey Weinstein is suing the disgraced movie producer for damages, according to a lawsuit lodged Thursday in Los Angeles.

Weinstein was convicted in December of attacking the woman, who has not been named, in a Beverly Hills hotel room.

The Oscar-winning former producer, 70, is already serving a 23-year sentence for his 2020 conviction in New York for sex crimes.

At a hearing expected this month in Los Angeles he faces a possible further 18-year term, increasing the likelihood the "Pulp Fiction" producer will spend the rest of his life in prison, even as he appeals both cases. — AFP

January 21, 2023 - 11:25am

Brooke Shields reveals she was raped as a young Hollywood actress in new documentary "Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields," which premiered at the Sundance film festival on Friday.

The former supermodel did not reveal the identity of her attacker, but said she met with the man -- someone she already knew -- soon after she graduated college, believing it was a work meeting to discuss casting her in a new movie.

He took her back to his hotel, claiming he would call her a taxi from his room. He instead disappeared to the bathroom before returning naked and assaulting her, she says. — AFP

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