Disgraced Hollywood mogul was found guilty of sex crimes on Wednesday in of his landmark #MeToo case from 2020.
Weinstein was retried for offenses against two women, Jessica Mann whom he is alleged to have raped, and Miriam Haley whom he was found to have sexually assaulted. He also faced new charges of assaulting ex-model Kaja Sokola.
A Manhattan jury found Weinstein guilty of sexually assaulting actress Miriam Haley.
He was acquitted of the sexual assault charge brought on by Sokola, while the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charges brought on by Mann.
Jurors are expected to continue deliberating Mann’s case on Thursday, with the judge ordering both legal teams not to speak to the media until that case has concluded.
Haley: retrial result ‘gives me hope’
The Oscar-winner’s conviction is seen as a vindication for Haley. It was her criminal complaint against him that in part led to the initial guilty verdict in 2020.
Her accusation against Weinstein helped fire the global “MeToo” movement that saw an outpouring of allegations from prominent women who were abused by men.
Haley had reservations about testifying again, but on Wednesday outside court she said hoped this time would be her last, adding that it had been “exhausting and at times dehumanizing.”
“But today’s verdict gives me hope,” Haley added.
Weinstein did not testify
All in all, more than 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, triggering a dramatic fall from grace for the once powerful Hollywood film mogul.
Weinstein was seated in a wheelchair and wearing a dark suit upon hearing the verdicts. The 73-year-old appeared to mutter “not true” as he was wheeled out of court.
The former film producer decided not to testify in the retrials, which lasted six weeks. His defense team only called on a few witnesses, while mainly seeking to cast doubt on the credibility of the witnesses for the prosecution.
Despite the mixed results in the retrials, Weinstein was already sentenced to 16 years in prison in a separate trial in Califronia in 2023, so he was guaranteed to spend time in prison regardless of what happened in New York.
Edited by Zachary Crellin
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