Harvey Weinstein: the latest developments

The latest developments

With the trial in California, Weinstein was again on trial for sexual assault. There were seven counts, including rape and other sexual assault. The allegations came from four women in a period from 2004 to 2013. Most of the assaults are said to have taken place in Beverly Hills hotels.

The jury found Weinstein guilty of three counts of sex crimes, including rape, on December 19, 2022. He was acquitted on one point, and there was no agreement on three other points. The jury, eight men and four women, had to reach a unanimous verdict on each charge. They failed on three counts. Their deliberations lasted over 40 hours over ten days.

In the trial in California, which lasted several weeks, the four plaintiffs described alleged assaults by Weinstein, sometimes in tears and with drastic details. According to Weinstein’s defense attorneys, the sex acts were consensual or some of the allegations made were fabricated by the women. According to Weinstein’s lawyers, the plaintiffs had sex with the influential film producer in order to get ahead in Hollywood.

Prosecutors had portrayed the accused as a “degenerate rapist” who used his power to prey on women and act like a predator.

Among the plaintiffs was Jennifer Siebel, the current wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. As an aspiring actress and producer, she wanted to talk to Weinstein about professional projects in 2005, but was raped by him in a hotel room, she testified on the witness stand. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the two charges against Siebel.

Weinstein pleaded not guilty in court. The former Hollywood mogul has also denied previous allegations of sexual assault on the grounds that any sexual activity was consensual.

The sentence for the Los Angeles trial is scheduled to be announced on February 23. Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison.

In March 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York State for sex crimes. Judge James Burke’s sentencing came about two weeks after a jury found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault. The maximum penalty would have been 29 years in prison.

His legal team recently appealed that ruling. A decision on this is still pending.

The trial began in January 2020 at the New York Criminal Court. Weinstein was charged with rape, sexual assault and “predatory sexual assault” – the latter roughly translates to “instinctive sexual violence”. Prosecutors wanted to prove that Weinstein behaved like a “predator” towards women. Some of the women who have accused Weinstein of sexual assault in recent years were present in court as spectators.

Since many cases were already statute-barred or were not reported, the process only revolved around the allegations of two women. One of them, a former Weinstein Company production assistant named Mimi Haleyi, is said to have been forced to perform oral sex by the former Hollywood mogul in 2006. The other woman, former actress Jessica Mann, is said to have been raped by Weinstein in 2013.

A total of 28 witnesses testified at the trial, and another 7 people were heard from the defense. Among the witnesses were women who accused Weinstein of rape, but whose cases had expired and could no longer be prosecuted.

Before the sexual assault scandal broke out, Harvey Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most influential film producers. The once extremely rich film mogul dominated the industry with films such as “Pulp Fiction”, “Good Will Hunting” or “Gangs of New York”. He was awarded an Oscar as a producer for “Shakespeare in Love”.

At the same time, allegations against Weinstein regarding his alleged sexual assault in Hollywood have been an open secret for years. But it was only in the fall of 2017 that they became known around the world through the New York Times and the New Yorker magazine. After that, it all happened in quick succession, and more and more allegations against Weinstein were made by more and more women. More than 80 women are now accusing Weinstein of sexual assault, including world-renowned actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.

The articles in the New York Times and New Yorker, which were later awarded the Pulitzer Prize, primarily triggered the global #MeToo movement. Because the allegations against Weinstein resulted in a pattern: The very rich film producer, who dominated the industry and was awarded the Oscar for films such as “Pulp Fiction”, among other things, is said to have used his power in a targeted manner to make young women docile. In return, he is said to have promised them a great career.

After the first Weinstein revelations, women and men all over the world recognized their own experiences in those of the alleged Weinstein victims and began to make them public on social networks under the keyword #MeToo. The spectrum of allegations was wide, ranging from lewd remarks and obscene behavior to abuse of power and years of (sexual) violence.

With agency material.