Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault in his second sex attack trial in Los Angeles.
Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault in his second sex attack trial in Los Angeles
The 70-year-old, already serving 23 years in jail after he was convicted in 2020 of rape and sexual assault in New York, was hit with the verdict after nine days of jury deliberation, and five years after scores of women spoke out against the former Hollywood titan and fuelled the #MeToo movement.
He now faces decades more in prison after the latest conviction, delivered on Monday. (19.12.22)
Weinstein was found guilty on three counts of rape and sexual assault against a European model who testified anonymously as Jane Doe 1 to protect her real identity.
The two-month trial heard how Weinstein used his power to lure women into private meetings before he assaulted them.
The jury was unable to reach verdicts in allegations by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the accusations of another woman, and a mistrial was declared on those counts.
Weinstein originally faced 11 rape and assault charges from five accusers, with 44 witnesses for the prosecution.
Prosecutors announced at the mid-point of the trial that the fifth accuser would not be testifying, so dropped four charges related to the woman.
After Weinstein’s criminal trial in New York a jury convicted the former producer of rape in the third degree and sexual assault, but acquitted him of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape.
The jury in his latest trial heard weeks of graphic and emotional testimony from eight women who said ex-Hollywood power-player Weinstein raped or sexually assaulted them at hotels around the globe, during meetings many of them thought were part of career opportunities in the film businesses.
Jennifer Newsom, 48, testified Weinstein assaulted and raped her during what she thought would be a business chat at a hotel in 2005, and repeatedly sobbed on the stand.
She branded the alleged attack her “worst nightmare”, but faced an aggressive cross-examination from Weinstein’s attorneys, who painted her as a “bimbo” and liar.
Weinstein chose not to testify – as he did in his New York trial – and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutor Marlene Martinez said: “For this predator, hotels were his trap.”
She added at the end of a dream held by his accusers they were meeting Weinstein as part of networking opportunities was a “monster”.
Weinstein’s defense attorney Alan Jackson warned jurors not to be influenced by the impact of the #MeToo movement, and said the testimony of eight different women had not produced evidence beyond a reasonable doubt the ex-movie boss had committed any crime.
He declared: “The truth is immutable... it’s not a hashtag. The law is not captive to the shifting sands of a popular movement.”
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