Sentenced in March 2020 to twenty-three years in prison for rape and sexual assault and imprisoned since, Harvey Weinstein appealed, Monday, April 5, of this decision, believing that his rights of defense have not been respected.
In an appeal filed Monday with the New York State Supreme Court, lawyers for the movie producer argue that several women were allowed to testify at trial about alleged assaults on Mr. Weinstein, even then that the facts put forward were prescribed or insufficiently substantiated to be able to be prosecuted, according to the defense. Six women had testified for the prosecution at the high-profile New York City trial, claiming the ex-Hollywood mogul sexually assaulted them.
While Mr. Weinstein was accused of harassment, rape or sexual assault by nearly ninety women, he was only prosecuted for two assaults during the hearings: a 2013 rape of Jessica Mann, who dreamed at the time of becoming an actress, and a forced cunnilingus on a former production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in 2006.
The impartiality of the jury called into question
In their 166-page appeal, Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers also argue that one of the jurors, author of a book about men with predatory behavior on young women, had compromised the supposed impartiality of the jury. .
They also deplored not having been able to call their expert in sexual assault to the bar, while the defense had been able to quote Barbara Ziv, expert specialist in post-traumatic syndrome after the rapes. While the two victims continued to have relations with Mr. Weinstein after their assaults, this doctor had explained at length to jurors that victims of sexual assault often continued to date their attacker.
The defense also claims that the judge imposed a sentence on the ex-producer, with no criminal record until then. “Excessively heavy” because of his fame and the media coverage of the case. Mr. Weinstein was finally convicted of rape and sexual assault on February 24, 2020, in a verdict seen as a resounding victory for the #metoo movement.
The 69-year-old ex-producer, incarcerated in a high-security prison in upstate New York, has also been charged with rape and sexual assault on five women by the Los Angeles attorney’s office. A hearing to see if he should be transferred to answer these charges is scheduled for April 12.