Disgraced Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape and two counts of s.e.xual assault against an Italian actress and model – known as Jane Doe 1 – by a jury in Los Angeles, California.
After a month-long trial and nine days of deliberations, the three guilty counts on Monday mark the second conviction of the onetime Hollywood kingmaker who became the notorious face of the #MeToo movement in the United States after a litany of sexual abuse allegations emerged five years ago. The jury on Monday also acquitted the 70-year-old or could not reach a verdict in the cases of the three other accusers.
Weinstein is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of s.e.x crimes by a court in New York City.
Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back,” Jane Doe 1 said in a statement issued shortly after Monday’s verdict.
“The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did. I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime,” she said.
Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison on the counts for which he was convicted, but aggravating factors could increase that to 24 years. Lawyers will return to court on Tuesday to deliver arguments related to aggravating factors.
The charges Weinstein was acquitted of on Monday involved a s.e.xual battery allegation made by a massage therapist who treated him at a hotel in 2010. Jurors were also unable to reach a verdict in the charges involving two other accusers, notably rape and s.e.xual assault charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement.
“Throughout the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do,” she said.
Source: News365
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