Weinstein was convicted of
a criminal sexual act for forcing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi
Haleyi in 2006 and of the third-degree rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in
2013, a measure of vindication for the dozens of women who came out against the
one-time all-powerful filmmaker.
Jurors in Harvey
Weinstein’s trial on Monday found the disgraced Hollywood mogul guilty of a
criminal sexual act and rape in the third degree, though not of the most
serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which would have landed him in
life jail.
However, the jury of seven
persons did not find the 67-year-old Oscar-winner who produced films including
“Shakespeare In Love” guilty of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault
charges that could have seen him jailed for life.
The Time’s Up foundation,
formed in the wake of the Weinstein case, hailed the verdict 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.
The limited win for #MeToo
presents 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 ago.
The decision was announced
in a packed New York courtroom where some 100 people had gathered. The
defendant, who attended the trial hunched over a walker, was shielded from view
by police officers.
More than 80 women have
accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since allegations against him ignited
the #MeToo global reckoning against men abusing positions of power in October
2017.
But the jury considered
charges related to just two: ex-actress Jessica Mann and former production
assistant Mimi Haleyi, with many claims too old to prosecute.
One of the predatory sexual
assault charges also 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
from the opening of testimony on January 22, to say they had been sexually
assaulted by Weinstein.
Weinstein’s team subjected
the women to ferocious cross-examination, as they argued that his relationships
were consensual and transactional.
The prosecution cast
Weinstein as a conniving predator who demanded sex in exchange for access to a
film universe where he was king, but presented no forensic evidence or witness
accounts.
The state’s case instead
rested on asking the jury to believe the women.
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 Mimi Haleyi at his New York
apartment in July 2006 while she was on her period.
Mann and Young both
testified that Weinstein’s genitals appeared deformed, during graphic and at
times uncomfortable testimony, as the prosecution showed jurors nude photos of
Weinstein to corroborate their accounts.
The charges of predatory
sexual assault, a serious sex crime committed against more than one person,
were the most serious 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.
Ex-model Lauren Young also
told the court that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of a
Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013 when she was a 22-year-old aspiring actress.
Judge Burke dismissed the
jury just after noon Monday, thanking them for their “care” and “attention.”
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.
Los Angeles prosecutors
accuse him of raping an Italian model in February 2013 and of assaulting Young
the following night.
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