(Los Angeles) Joint verdict for Harvey Weinstein: The former Hollywood producer was found guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault at the end of his trial in Los Angeles on Monday, just half of the charges he was charged with.
Posted at 7:04 p.m
Romain FONSEGRIVES Agence France-Presse
After two weeks of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on all charges of the first of the four accusers. They found him not guilty of the second wife’s allegations and issued no verdict on the other two’s allegations.
The 70-year-old former “king” of cinema, who produced award-winning hits such as Pulp Fiction and The Artist, is already serving a 23-year sentence following his 2020 conviction in New York for similar offenses.
Press investigations that revealed these facts provoked #metoo, a global movement for liberating women’s voices on gender-based and sexual violence.
During this new trial, four women, who testified anonymously, detailed allegations that the producer forced them to have sex in hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013. A fifth finally refused to testify.
After weeks of harrowing hearings, often punctuated by sobbing prosecutors, prosecutors had cast Mr. Weinstein as an all-powerful ogre, a “predator” whose stranglehold on Hollywood — the films he produced have garnered more than 330 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes — has long held its own Victims prevented from speaking out for fear of impact on their careers.
Wearing a gray suit, the former movie giant buried his head in his hands as the sentencing was delivered on Monday.
Following this verdict, a judge has yet to rule on Mr. Weinstein’s verdict.
The seventy-year-old faces up to 18 years in prison for the three counts on which he was found guilty. A maximum limit that could be raised to 24 years, subject to certain aggravating circumstances still to be decided by the jury.
Call to New York
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon regretted the jury’s half-hearted decision.
“I’m obviously disappointed that the jury was split on some charges, but I hope that their partial verdict brings at least some justice to the victims,” he said in a statement.
The verdict of this new trial in Los Angeles was particularly important for the ex-producer. After an initial denial of justice, the New York Supreme Court finally authorized him in August to appeal his 2020 conviction, a first decision that had been a major victory for the #metoo movement.
Militantly, his defense throughout the trial systematically challenged the testimonies of the four accusers, insisting on the lack of physical evidence and forensic elements.
“Tears don’t tell the truth,” Alan Jackson, one of the producer’s attorneys, slammed an allegation that was “entirely” based on the jury’s will to believe the plaintiffs.
Mr. Weinstein’s defense had particularly weighed on Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who revealed her identity at the trial.
According to the defense, she had a relationship in Hollywood in exchange for favors, which she later regretted and turned into allegations that surfed the avalanche of revelations against Mr Weinstein at the start of the #metoo movement in 2017.
One argument that cast doubt on the jury: Ms. Siebel-Newsom is one of two women they have not passed a verdict on.
In all, nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosanna Arquette, have accused Harvey Weinstein of molestation, sexual assault or rape. But the statute of limitations has been exceeded in many of these cases, some dating back to 1977.
The ex-producer is also facing charges of sexual assault in the UK dating back to 1996.