(by Alessandra Baldini) (ANSA) — NEW YORK, DECEMBER 19 — Guilty of one rape and two counts of sexual assault: The jury at the Los Angeles trial of Harvey Weinstein was divided on a total of seven counts and failed to find “unanimity” on the fact that the former producer took advantage of the women who approached him and tried to have sex with them without their consent.
The former Hollywood king is serving 23 years in prison after his conviction in New York. “You are our heroines against a monster,” said Oscar winner Mira Sorvino to the women who had contacted Los Angeles.
Weinstein risked up to 60 years in prison, now there is talk of a prison sentence of 18 and 24 years. After nearly ten hours of closed session, the jury “beyond reasonable doubt” did not agree on one count of rape and two other counts of sexual assault. The verdict concluded a trial that began in late October in which 44 witnesses testified, including Italian-Filipino model Ambra Battilana Guterres and one of the accusers, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the actress and documentary filmmaker who was married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In both New York and Los Angeles, Weinstein had declined offers to testify in his defense. At the trial in the mecca of cinema, the jury fully believed the testimony of “Jane Doe 1”, a then-famous Italian model, who accused Weinstein of raping her in a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013 at the Los Angeles Italy festival.
The former producer, who had pleaded not guilty to all counts, was instead acquitted of assault charges against Jane Doe 3’s masseuse, who allegedly confided in the molestation to another famous client, Mel Gibson, while the The jury was at odds with two accusers, one of whom is Newson’s wife. The verdict on them was eight to four, not enough to declare unanimity. “I’m proud of her testimony,” said her husband after the verdict was announced. (HAND).
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