Jailed ex-Hollywood kingpin faces a brand new 24-year sentence for raping an Italian lady in Los Angeles in 2013.
Disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein has been discovered responsible of rape and two counts of sexual assault in opposition to an Italian actress and mannequin – referred to as Jane Doe 1 – by a jury in Los Angeles, California.
After a month-long trial and 9 days of deliberations, the three responsible counts on Monday mark the second conviction of the onetime Hollywood kingmaker who grew to become the infamous face of the #MeToo motion in the USA after a litany of sexual abuse allegations emerged 5 years in the past. The jury on Monday additionally acquitted the 70-year-old or couldn’t attain a verdict within the circumstances of the three different accusers.
Weinstein is already serving a 23-year jail sentence after being convicted of intercourse crimes by a courtroom in New York Metropolis.
“Harvey Weinstein without end destroyed part of me that evening in 2013 and I’ll by no means get that again,” Jane Doe 1 mentioned in an announcement issued shortly after Monday’s verdict.
“The felony trial was brutal and Weinstein’s legal professionals put me by hell on the witness stand, however I knew I needed to see this by to the tip, and I did. I hope Weinstein by no means sees the surface of a jail cell throughout his lifetime,” she mentioned.
Weinstein faces as much as 18 years in jail on the counts for which he was convicted, however aggravating elements may improve that to 24 years.
Attorneys will return to courtroom on Tuesday to ship arguments associated to aggravating elements.
‘Sexism, misogyny, and bullying ways’
The costs Weinstein was acquitted of on Monday concerned a sexual battery allegation made by a therapeutic massage therapist who handled him at a lodge in 2010. Jurors had been additionally unable to achieve a verdict within the costs involving two different accusers, notably rape and sexual assault costs involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the spouse of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Harvey Weinstein won’t ever have the ability to rape one other lady. He’ll spend the remainder of his life behind bars the place he belongs,” Siebel Newsom mentioned in an announcement.
“All through the trial, Weinstein’s legal professionals used sexism, misogyny, and bullying ways to intimidate, demean, and mock us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do,” she mentioned.
Los Angeles County District Legal professional George Gascon mentioned he was “upset” that the jury was break up on a few of the counts.
However, he mentioned he hoped “its partial verdicts convey not less than some measure of justice to the victims”.
Throughout 5 weeks of testimony in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom, accusers together with Siebel Newsom mentioned Weinstein lured them to what they believed had been enterprise conferences. Throughout typically graphic testimony, the ladies alleged that the highly effective producer of “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love” masturbated in entrance of them and groped or raped them.
Prosecutors additionally referred to as 40 different witnesses in an try to provide context and corroboration to these tales.
4 had been different ladies who weren’t a part of the fees however testified that Weinstein raped or sexually assaulted them. They mentioned he promised assist with securing an audition or a e book deal, then organized conferences the place employees disappeared and left them alone with him.
Weinstein mentioned all of his sexual encounters had been consensual and pleaded not responsible.
Weinstein was first convicted of sexual misconduct in New York Metropolis in February 2020. He was extradited from New York Metropolis to a Los Angeles jail in July 2021.
Weinstein is interesting his conviction and jail sentence in New York Metropolis.