Former Hollywood star producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Thursday (February 23rd) to sixteen years in prison in Los Angeles for the 2013 rape and sexual assault of an Italian actress and model in a Beverly Hills hotel. The 70-year-old former Hollywood kingmaker is already serving a 23-year prison sentence following his conviction in New York in 2020 for similar charges and which he appealed . He also appealed his conviction on Thursday in Los Angeles.
“I was a happy woman”
At his trial in California, Harvey Weinstein had directly challenged the judge, assuring: “I maintain that I am innocent, I have never raped or sexually assaulted [la plaignante]. » A little earlier, she had said how much she suffered from having been assaulted. “Before that night, I was a happy, confident woman. I had self-esteem and valued my relationship with God”, did she say. “I was excited about my future. Everything changed when [M. Weinstein] brutally attacked me. No prison sentence is long enough to undo my prejudice. »
The judge had refused a motion filed by Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers, who requested a new trial. Jurors spared the defendant an even longer sentence by acquitting him of charges of sexually assaulting a masseuse, and failing to reach a decision in cases involving two other women.
The defense argued during the trial that Harvey Weinstein had mutually consensual sex with two of the women who accused him of assault, and that the other two women – including the one whose case ultimately led to his condemnation – had made up their stories entirely.
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