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Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault after New York retrial [Post Updated #50]

Cpt. Rishwat

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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/...y-fear-ambition-and-a-liberal-media-7wqj9fgkj

It's behind a paywall but it's the idea itself that I find intriguing. The story itself has been the big news this week, about the famous movie mogul Weinstein sexually assaulting many of his female leads supposedly. What's ironic is that The Times is blaming the liberal media for covering this up when you could argue that with Murdoch as the owner, they themselves are in a position to influence opinion as much as any other outlet.

It is a strange story though. How on earth did Weinstein get away with it for so long without anyone blowing the lid, whether liberal or otherwise?
 
Funny reading right wing pundits using the Harvey Weinstein affair to make a point of attacking liberals.

Who did Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly work for again ? Oh that's right, Rupert Murdoch, that beacon of liberalism.

These same right-wingers who preach about "family values" voted for a man who boasted about grabbing women by their privates and is accused of sexual assault by several women - a man who now sits in the Oval Office so seeing Fox News and other Murdoch entities get all giddy about this scandal is rich coming from them.

The common thread in these sex scandals is men in positions of power thinking they can treat women however they want with impunity. The fact that victims of abuse are speaking up is a sign of progress - hopefully the courts will ensure justice is done to Weinstein.
 
I think it's pretty common in the industry, all these actors and actresses are coming out because he has been exposed.

Why didn't Angelina Jolie speak about this previously? She is always harping on about womens rights etc.
 
Complaint was filed in London in 80s against the guy, but british police did nothing.
 
With power, comes the abuse of power. It is an industry notorious for abuse, "the casting couch" has been around since the inception of Hollywood. I am shocked that people are surprised that it happens. It doesnt make it right but i suspect that all participants go in with eyes wide open.
 
There is reports of Matt Demon trying to kill New York tiimes 2004 Weintstein story

Hollywood is a very murky place, cast couching is quite prevalent. Wonder how many more Harveys are in Hollywood?
 
I think it's pretty common in the industry, all these actors and actresses are coming out because he has been exposed.

Why didn't Angelina Jolie speak about this previously? She is always harping on about womens rights etc.

Her career would have been destroyed

Read story of Ambra Battilana Gutierrez if you haven't in this article, she was even wired by the police and there was conclusive evidence for Harvey to be prosecuted. Look what happened to her, there was sheer character assassination of her by the Harvey team

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories
 
This is one of the industry's dirtiest and worst kept secrets. I have recently had this confirmed by a very reliable source who has worked extensively in the British film industry.

For me, the most interesting names over the last week or so have been the female names that have NOT come out and made allegations - because, through process of elimination, you can be pretty sure that some of these less vocal A-listers happily slept with Weinstein and many other producers / power-brokers in the industry to get to the top.
 
These film producer types are weird as hell. In my capacity as an Investment Manager I had to meet some American guy who was over here looking for investment into his film production company. Typical big picture US sales spiel and over familiarity. Then at the end of the meeting in front of my colleagues he started asking me if we'd met before 'because I recognise you from one of the clubs I go to' ?! I'm not one to frequent clubs and certainly not any sort that weirdo would go to. My colleagues had a good laugh about it and reckoned he was trying to chat me up (in which case he obviously had poor eyesight and/or very bad taste)
 
The fact he got away with it for so long is the privilege. Like Savile and Heath.
 
With power, comes the abuse of power. It is an industry notorious for abuse, "the casting couch" has been around since the inception of Hollywood. I am shocked that people are surprised that it happens. It doesnt make it right but i suspect that all participants go in with eyes wide open.

Then why is everyone piping up now? More than a whiff of hypocrisy don't you think? Weinstein is obviously a lecherous creep, but as you say, the term casting couch is as old as the film industry. That suggests that Harvey won't be the only one, so you would think it would blow a lid off quite a few cans across the world.
 
It's been done by Chaplin by himself who is the universal icon of Hollywood.
 
Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new charges

Film producer Harvey Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to two additional charges of predatory sexual assault.

Mr Weinstein, who briefly appeared in a New York court, has already pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and a forcible sex act on another in 2006.

Prosecutors filed the new indictment on Monday to allow jurors to hear testimony from a third accuser, actress Annabella Sciorra.

Mr Weinstein, 67, has denied sexual misconduct claims by over 70 women.

Ms Sciorra, who is known for her role in the HBO series The Sopranos, says Mr Weinstein raped her inside her Manhattan apartment in 1993.

She is not listed as a plaintiff in the new case because the alleged assault took place too long ago to be prosecuted under state law.

However, prosecutors hope to use her testimony to bolster their case that Weinstein is a sexual predator.

The defence said in court documents that the legal move to introduce Ms Sciorra as a witness was a "desperate" bid to prop up a "weak" case.

Gloria Allred, a lawyer who represents sex abuse accusers in high-profile cases, said in a statement on Monday that she was representing Ms Sciorra.

The actress went public with her allegation in the New Yorker magazine in October 2017.

Mr Weinstein's trial was pushed back on Monday four months to January.

The Hollywood producer could face a life sentence if convicted.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49475787
 
Several women were booed or asked to leave as they confronted Harvey Weinstein at an event in New York on Wednesday.

The movie mogul was in the audience at a showcase for emerging talent when comedian Kelly Bachman criticised him on stage.

Weinstein has been accused of several counts of sexual assault, which he denies.

Bachman referred to him as "the elephant in the room" and "Freddy Krueger" as she spoke at the event.

His representative said the behaviour of the women was "rude" and "uncalled for".

"I didn't know we had to bring our own Mace and rape whistles to Actor's Hour," Bachman is seen saying in video footage posted on Instagram.

She was booed and told to be quiet by members of the audience, to which she replied: "Sorry, that killed at group therapy for rape survivors."

However, some members of the audience then cheered and applauded her.

After the event, Bachman told the Guardian she "felt like the air was sucked out of the room" when she spoke about Weinstein on stage.

Fellow comedian Amber Rollo and actress Zoe Stuckles reportedly approached Weinstein's table at the interval of the event in the city's Lower East Side.

"Nobody's gonna say anything?" Stuckles shouted in the direction of the filmmaker - who was sitting with two bodyguards - before both she and Rollo were asked to leave.

Footage of the exchange was later posted on Facebook and reproduced by The Guardian.

Rollo tweeted afterwards that she had called him "a monster" and told him he should "disappear".

Weinstein has made few few public appearances since widespread allegations of sexual assault were made against him, prompting the rise of the #MeToo movement.

In a statement, the producer's publicist Juda Engelmayer said: "Harvey Weinstein was out with friends enjoying the music and trying to find some solace in his life that has been turned upside down.

"This scene was uncalled for, downright rude and an example of how due process today is being squashed by the public, trying to take it away in the courtroom too."

The 67-year-old is currently on bail and due to stand trial in New York in January over rape allegations.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50179181.
 
Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape at New York trial

Harvey Weinstein, the fallen titan of Hollywood whose sexual abuse of aspiring young female actors sparked the #MeToo movement, has finally been brought to justice after a New York jury found him guilty.

The jury of seven men and five women at the New York supreme court took five days to reach their verdict. They found the defendant guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree for forcing oral sex on the former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.

The count carries a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of up to 25 years.

The jury also convicted Weinstein of rape in the third degree. This relates to him raping a woman the Guardian is not naming, as her wishes for identification are not clear, in a New York hotel in 2013.

Weinstein was acquitted of three further charges, including the two most serious counts of predatory sexual assault which carried a possible life sentence and an alternative count of rape in the first degree.

The movie mogul’s epic fall from grace is now complete, toppled from the pinnacle of independent cinema where he helmed films such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, amassing a total of 81 Oscars. The glamorous Manhattan and Los Angeles lifestyle he once enjoyed will soon be replaced by a New York state prison cell.

The conviction marks the final comeuppance for a towering figure who wielded his power in the movie industry – as well as his commanding physical presence – over vulnerable young women seeking his help.

Though Judge James Burke cautioned the jury not to see the case as a referendum on #MeToo, Weinstein’s conviction is certain to have far-reaching consequences for gender relations in the workplace, in Hollywood and far beyond. The world of powerful men who deploy their seniority as tools of sexual control is much less secure in its wake.

Michelle Simpson Tuegel, an attorney representing victims of sexual assault, said she expected to see a wave of women coming forward with complaints against other sexual abusers. “No matter how powerful a person is, no matter how much mud or dirt may be flung at those who have the courage to come forward, we are in a new time. The #MeToo era has thankfully started to unmask these systems of abuse of power, and now women can be heard and believed.”

The guilty verdict could also have a profound impact on the way sex crimes are prosecuted. The New York district attorney’s office took an enormous gamble in how they set up the trial.

Prosecutors chose as main accusers two women, both of whom continued to have close – and at times sexual – contact with Weinstein after they were attacked. In the past, prosecutors have almost always balked at such cases where coerced and consensual sex exists side-by-side, considering them too messy to secure guilty verdicts.

The fact that the tactic succeeded with the jury is a sign of the shifting sands of #MeToo. It suggests that prosecutors might have far more leeway in future to take on cases where victims continue to be in the thrall of their attackers after sexual assaults – a scenario which sex crimes experts say is all too common and yet up til now has been almost entirely neglected by the criminal courts.

As psychiatrist Barbara Ziv told the jury in expert testimony, “it is the norm to have contact with the assailant.”

Such a striking victory can be credited to the two intrepid prosecutors, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon and Meghan Hast, who meticulously laid out the defendant’s culpability. They did so against the headwinds generated by Weinstein’s lawyers led by the Chicago-based sex crimes defender Donna Rotunno who was so aggressive towards witnesses that she induced in one of the two main accusers a fully fledged panic attack.

The prosecutors called 27 witnesses over 12 days, building up a profile of the movie producer as a cold and calculating sexual predator that ultimately overwhelmed defense arguments. They emphasized the vast gulf in power – and girth – between Weinstein and his victims.

He was a “famous and powerful Hollywood producer living a lavish lifestyle that most of us will never know”, Hast said, pointing out that he counted among his friends not only the elite of Hollywood but also world leaders like ill Clinton. By contrast, the unnamed rape victim was brought up on a Washington state dairy farm.

Weinstein, 67, meticulously planned his attacks, carefully selecting his victims for their vulnerability and neediness. He set them loyalty tests that if they passed would then lead onto the next stage of his predatory grooming.

He hooked Miriam Haley, now 42, his second main accuser, by helping her secure a production assistant job on Project Runway. Then on 10 July 2006 he lured Haley up to his SoHo apartment under the pretext of a business meeting.

Once inside things were normal until the film producer suddenly lunged at her and tried to kiss her. She rejected him, but he kept on coming, pushing her backwards into a bedroom and onto the bed.

She remembered the room being dimly lit and with children’s toys in it.

“I tried to get up and he pushed me down. I just said, ‘No, I don’t want this to happen.’” She kept protesting, telling him she was on her period, but “it was as if he didn’t believe me”; he yanked the tampon out and carried on attacking her.

Eventually she stopped resisting. “I figured it was pointless,” Haley told the jury as she cried.

The rape victim described the defendant as a Jekyll and Hyde. “If he heard the word ‘no’, it was like a trigger for him,” she said.

As the evidence unfolded in courtroom 99, through the eerily similar accounts of all six women, it became clear that sex for Weinstein had nothing to do with seduction, romance and affection, let alone intimacy or love. As the rape victim testified, her attacker had to use a needle to inject himself in the penis with an erectile dysfunction medicine before he could carry out the assault.

One of his friends, Paul Feldsher, who was called as a defense witness, said Weinstein had a “sex addition”. But a much more accurate analysis of his behavior was given by Illuzzi-Orban, who told the jury that “ultimately this trial is about the defendant’s desire for conquest”.

In the end, what will stick in the mind of many of those people who sat through the trial – witnesses, jurors, court officials, reporters and public alike – was the terrifying violence of the attacks.

Haley related in court how Weinstein had ripped out her tampon before forcing oral sex on her. Tarale Wulff, a model 43, who was one of three witnesses called by the prosecution to show a pattern of “prior bad acts” by the defendant, recounted how she was attacked in his SoHo apartment in 2005.

“He took me by the arms turned me around and threw me on the bed then got on top of me,” she said. “He put himself inside me and raped me.”

Several of the witnesses told the jury that Weinstein appeared to think he was entitled to abuse women given his status within the movie industry. When Dawn Dunning, another of the “prior bad acts” witnesses, declined his demand for a threesome in 2004 when she was 24, he screamed at her: “This is how the business works. This is how actresses got where they are.”

Weinstein’s new role as a convicted sex criminal is not the end of the story. He will now face sentencing at the hands of Burke, a judge who throughout the trial has shown himself to be immune to the complaints of Weinstein’s lawyers about the way the trial was conducted.

In turn, those complaints were likely to have been designed as seeds for future appeals. Rotunno and her defense team complained repeatedly that the trial was unfair, calling for it to be moved out of New York because of the city’s concentration of anti-Weinstein media coverage, claiming that the jury had been tainted, and objecting to elements of the evidence – including a set of official photographs of the defendant’s allegedly deformed genitals.

Before he gets to lodge any appeal, Weinstein could face further legal jeopardy. Los Angeles authorities have charged him with raping and sexually assaulting two women over a two-day period in February 2013.

It remains to be seen whether those prosecutions will proceed or whether they will be allowed to wither now that he is certain to face prison time in New York. One of the two women in the LA case was a “prior bad acts” witness in New York – Lauren Young, who told the jury how Weinstein had groped her in a hotel bathroom in Beverly Hills in 2013.

Beyond Weinstein’s fate, several big questions are likely to rise up as a result of the verdict. In particular, how was it possible for a serial sex attacker to evade justice for so many years?

Books written by the Pulitzer-prize winning journalists who exposed Weinstein in 2017 – She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of the New York Times, and Catch and Kill by the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow – outline an elaborate network of lawyers, private detectives and other paid advisers and assistants who worked diligently on the movie mogul’s behalf. These enablers repeatedly rallied to Weinstein’s cause, silencing his accusers and ensuring that for decades his wealth and power effectively rendered him untouchable.

Nobody is above the law, the truism says, but Harvey Weinstein was above the law for at least a quarter of a century. Until this week, when justice finally caught up with him.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/24/harvey-weinstein-guilty-trial-charges-verdict
 
He enjoyed a lot at the expense of women. Now he has to do the time for his crimes.
 
He enjoyed a lot at the expense of women. Now he has to do the time for his crimes.
if he was a bit younger someone would have also enjoyed him at his expense in prison (if you know what I mean)
 
See the reporters lining up in the freezing cold almost every time I go to the Courthouse where I intern.
 
Harvey Weinstein accusers welcome rape and sexual assault conviction

Accusers of Harvey Weinstein have welcomed the guilty verdicts in the rape and sexual assault case against the former Hollywood mogul.

Actress Rose McGowan told the BBC "this is a great day", while others said the ruling brought hope to victims that their voices would be heard.

Weinstein, 67, was convicted in New York City of third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sexual act.

He was cleared of the most serious count of predatory sexual assault.

Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison over the guilty verdicts relating to two women. His lawyers say he will appeal.

“ I'm innocent. How can this happen in America?" Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala quoted his client as saying.

The former movie executive still faces charges in Los Angeles of assaulting two women in 2013.

In all, at least 80 women had accused him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.

The allegations were at the centre of the #MeToo movement that prompted women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Weinstein once enjoyed phenomenal success with Oscar winners such Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, The King's Speech and Shakespeare in Love.

He was taken to New York's Bellevue Hospital reportedly suffering from chest pains after the verdict was announced.

He had been due to be moved to prison on Riker's Island to await sentencing.

What happened in the New York court?

The jury of seven men and five women reached their verdict on Monday morning, the fifth day of deliberations.

Weinstein - who denied all charges - was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in 2013. The judge ordered him to be sent to jail immediately.

But the jury acquitted him on two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carried a potential life sentence, and first-degree rape of Mann.

In the minutes after the verdict, Weinstein showed no emotion as he talked to his lead lawyer Donna Rotunno.

A third-degree rape charge in New York is defined as engaging in sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consent, or under age 17, or who has not given consent for a reason other than the inability to consent.

Prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who used his position of power in Hollywood to manipulate and attack women.

The defence team said sex between the movie executive and the accusers was consensual, and that the accusers used it to advance their careers.

The allegations amounted to "regret renamed as rape", the defence said. Two of the accusers kept in contact with Weinstein and had sex with him after the alleged attacks, they pointed out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51624248
 
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Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex assault in case that sparked ‘MeToo’ movement

Film producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for a sex assault case that ignited the #MeToo movement in the United States.

That sentence was just six years less than the maximum 29 years requested by prosecutors, and could amount to an effective life sentence for the 67-year-old Weinstein, who has been in apparently frail health.

Weinstein’s sentencing was watched in the Manhattan courtroom by all the women who had testified at trial against the once-feared mogul, who was convicted Feb. 24 of rape and committing a criminal sexual act more than two years after explosive news articles about his alleged serial sexual abuse of women.

He was found not guilty of the most serious charges: two counts of predatory sexual assault for which he could have been sentenced to life in prison. He also was acquitted of first-degree rape.

The minimum sentence that Weinstein faced Wednesday when he was rolled into a courtroom in a wheelchair was five years in prison, which is the term his defense lawyers requested from Judge James Burke in recent cout filings.

“I am totally confused,” Weinstein told Burke before he was sentenced, according to Variety. “I think men are confused about all of this ... this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country.”

The producer of films including “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love,” and “Gangs of New York” faced a maximum sentence of 29 years behind bars. Prosecutors on Wednesday asked that term be imposed.

Jurors found him guilty of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act by forcibly performing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.

He also had been convicted of third-degree rape for attacking aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

Both Haleyi and Mann gave statements in court before Weinstein was sentenced.

“Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra had testified at the trial that she was raped by Weinstein in her apartment around 26 years ago.

Sciorra’s allegations were not the subject of a separate charge against Weinstein. But her testimony, along with that of five other women, was permitted by the judge to allow prosecutors to show a pattern of conduct by Weinstein to prove that he was guilty of predatory sexual assault against Mann and Haley.

Scores of other women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting them or engaging in less severe forms of sexual misconduct. He has denied all such allegations.

Weinstein stil faces pending criminal charges in Los Angeles, where where prosecutors in January accused him of raping one woman and sexually assaulting a second woman over a two-day period in 2013.

Weinstein has been in custody since his conviction.

He originally was taken to a medical jail unit at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, but recently was shipped to the notorious Rikers Island jail complex in New York City.

He will serve his sentence in an upstate New York prison.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/harvey-weinstein-sentenced-in-prison-for-sex-assault.html
 
Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for coronavirus, a US federal prison union official has said.

The former Hollywood producer has been placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo, New York.

He was moved from New York City's Rikers Island jail where he is serving a 23-year sentence.

The president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, Michael Powers, said he learned that Weinstein's test came back positive on Sunday morning.

Several prison staff have since been quarantined, Mr Powers added.

A lawyer for Weinstein, Imran Ansari, said his legal team had not been notified of the coronavirus diagnosis.

"Given Mr Weinstein's state of health, we are of course concerned, if this is the case, and we are vigilantly monitoring the situation," Mr Ansari said.

Weinstein, 68, was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 following a landmark trial earlier this year.

Prosecutors said he had committed a "lifetime of abuse towards others".
His conviction was hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct by powerful men.

More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades.

He has denied the allegations, saying any sex was consensual.

Once one of Hollywood's most influential figures, Weinstein won an Academy Award for producing Shakespeare In Love and was responsible for other acclaimed films including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Gangs Of New York.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...y-weinstein-tests-positive-in-prison-11962102
 
If his health is truly as bad as Harvey and his lawyers have been portraying it in the courts (can’t walk, breathing issues, heart attacks etc), presuming that wasn’t an attempt to get a sympathy vote, then surely Covid-19 will kill him.
 
If this guy dies because of COVID 19 then he got away cheaply for the many attrocities he has committed in life
 
I hope this rapist gets killed in prison before the virus takes him.
 
I hope he survives for the next 22 years and 10 months. COVID-19 will mean a quick end to his sentence.
 
Harvey Weinstein hit with third sexual assault case in Los Angeles

The onetime Hollywood mogul, who tested positive for the coronavirus soon after being incarcerated in upstate New York but has since recovered, was newly charged with a single felony count of sexual battery by restraint.

The 68-year-old had already been charged in Los Angeles with rape, sexual penetration by force and forcible oral copulation for an alleged encounter with one woman, and with sexual battery of a second woman, both in February of 2013.

The latest case stems from an incident that occurred in May 2010 at a Beverly Hills hotel, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement accompanying the amended five-count criminal complaint that contained the new charge.

Weinstein’s spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, declined to comment until he was able to reach Weinstein’s lawyers. Weinstein’s attorneys could not immediately be reached by Reuters.

More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He has denied the allegations, saying any sex was consensual.

The revised criminal complaint filed on Friday says Weinstein touched “an intimate part” of the victim while she was restrained against her will by the film producer and an unnamed accomplice.

None of the three women cited as Weinstein’s accusers is identified in court papers.

The third accuser was interviewed by law enforcement in October as a possible corroborating witness in other complaints, and provided detectives last month “with information confirming that the assault took place within the 10-year statute of limitation,” prosecutors said in their statement.

The district attorney’s office also announced on Friday that two other cases involving Weinstein were declined for prosecution “because the victims did not want to testify against the defendant in this case.”

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have initiated a request for temporary custody of Weinstein from New York state as they begin the extradition process, the statement said. He is to be arraigned on the Los Angeles charges once he arrives.

If convicted as charged in the revised complaint, Weinstein faces up to 29 years in prison, according to the statement.

He was sentenced on March 11 in Manhattan criminal court to 23 years in prison for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress. His conviction was hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct by powerful men.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ual-assault-case-in-los-angeles-idUSKCN21S24M
 
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual assault by four further women as he serves a 23-year prison sentence.

Court documents filed in New York on Thursday allege several sexual offences dating from 1984 to 2013.

One of the four anonymous women was 17 at the time of an alleged attack.

Weinstein's legal representative told BBC News: "Mr Weinstein intends to defend against the claims filed anonymously against him yesterday."

The lawyer, Imran H Ansari of Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins PC, added: "Some of these claims, including those alleged to have occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, may be barred by the applicable statute of limitations, and not subject to any exceptions under the law, as these plaintiffs do not appear to be complainants in Mr Weinstein's criminal case."

The latest legal cases allege multiple sexual offences against four women, who currently reside in Tennessee, New York, Ecuador and Hungary.

Some of the attacks allegedly took place after meetings with Weinstein at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals.

The new allegations include:

A 43-year-old woman from Tennesee claims that in 1994, when she was 17, Weinstein "falsely imprisoned, sexually assaulted, sexually battered and raped her" in his hotel room. The plaintiff, who wanted to break into the entertainment industry, alleges Weinstein demanded she perform oral sex on him.

A 70-year-old woman from Ecuador claims that in 1984, when she was 34, Weinstein allegedly pinned her against a door and fondled her in his hotel room in Cannes, when she was looking to start a career as a documentary filmmaker.

A 38-year old woman said she met Weinstein in Manhattan in 2008 and he offered to "help take her career to the next level". He allegedly raped her in his Soho apartment a few days later, telling her he would ruin her if she told anyone.

A 35-year-old woman from Hungary claims that in 2013, when she was 26, she met Weinstein at the Venice Film Festival. A few months later, he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him when she met him in a hotel room.

Allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in October 2017, when The New York Times first reported incidents dating back decades.

At least 80 women have since accused him of sexual misconduct, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.

The allegations were at the centre of the #MeToo movement that inspired women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Weinstein issued an apology acknowledging he had "caused a lot of pain", but denied any allegations of non-consensual sex.

In February, Weinstein was convicted in New York City of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act, and later sentenced to 23 years in jail.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52851660
 
Harvey Weinstein: Some accusers denounce $19m 'sellout' settlement

Two lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein are to be settled for a proposed $18.9m (£15.3m), the New York Attorney General has announced.

The fund would be distributed between dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

However, lawyers representing six of the women who have accused the disgraced film producer have criticised the proposal as a "complete sellout".

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape.

What is the new settlement?

The settlement, announced on Tuesday, would resolve a lawsuit filed in 2018 against Weinstein, his production company and his brother by the New York Attorney General's office.

It would also settle a separate class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of women who accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.

"After all the harassment, threats, and discrimination, these survivors are finally receiving some semblance of justice," Attorney General Letitia James said.

"Women who were forced to sign confidentiality agreements will also be freed from those clauses and finally be able to speak."

The proposed settlement will still require approval from a federal judge and bankruptcy court.

What has the response from accusers been?

Lawyers Douglas H Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer, who represent six accusers, criticised the proposed settlement because it did not require Weinstein to accept responsibility or personally pay out any money.

"The proposed settlement is a complete sellout of the Weinstein survivors and we are surprised that the attorney general could somehow boast about a proposal that fails on so many different levels," they said.

"While we do not begrudge any survivor who truly wants to participate in this deal, as we understand the proposed agreement, it is deeply unfair for many reasons."

However, another of Weinstein's accusers, Louisette Geiss, said: "This important act of solidarity allowed us to use our collective voice to help those who had been silenced and to give back to the many, many survivors who lost their careers and more.

"There is no amount of money that can make up for this injustice, but I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished today."

In February, Weinstein was convicted in New York City of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act, and later sentenced to 23 years in jail.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53247115
 
Six women who claim they were sexually abused by Harvey Weinstein urged a United States judge on Monday to reject an $18.9m settlement between the disgraced movie producer, the board of his former studio and other accusers.

The settlement announced on June 30 would end litigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James and separate class-action litigation, and permit accusers to claim between $7,500 and $750,000 each.

But in a Manhattan federal court filing, the six women complained that the accord "absolved" Weinstein, his brother Bob Weinstein and the board of liability, and created a $15.2m windfall to help them cover defence costs.

They said this contrasted with the $11.2 million that accusers would receive, after deducting legal fees and costs, and shielded the defendants' insurers from big payouts.

The settlement is "a cruel hoax" and among "the most one-sided and unfair class settlements in history," the filing said. "The main winners ... are Harvey Weinstein, Robert Weinstein and the ultra-wealthy former directors of The Weinstein Co."

James's office and a lawyer for Weinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gerald Maatman, a lawyer for the Weinstein Co, declined to comment.

The settlement requires approval by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.

In 2010, he initially rejected a settlement for workers who suffered health problems after the September 11, 2001 attacks, saying he would not approve an accord "based on fear or ignorance".

Weinstein, 68, is serving a 23-year prison term following his February 24 conviction for sexually assaulting a former production assistant and raping a one-time aspiring actress.

He is appealing, and still faces rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.

The guilty verdict was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, which, starting in late 2017, inspired women to accuse hundreds of powerful men in business, entertainment, media, politics and other fields, of sexual misconduct.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ses-million-live-updates-200712232253227.html
 
Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his honorary CBE following his conviction for rape and sexual assault.

An official announcement in The Gazette confirms that the Queen has annulled his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

The decision was made at a recent meeting of the Honours Forfeiture Committee, which is independent from government.

Weinstein was awarded the CBE in 2004.

In March, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison, following an investigation by the New York Times in Oct 2017 that published accusations from several women that the now 68-year-old producer had abused or harassed them.

The removal of Weinstein's CBE for services to the film industry follows the 2017 rescinding of the Fellowship he received from the British Film Institute (BFI) in 2002.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54181269
 
Harvey Weinstein faces six new sexual assault charges

Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six further counts of sexual assault, the Los Angeles District Attorney confirmed.

Friday's charges involve two victims of alleged incidents that occurred more than 10 years ago.

Weinstein now faces 11 sexual assault charges in Los Angeles County involving five women, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

In March, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

During that trial in New York, the 68-year-old was found guilty of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act against one woman and third-degree rape of another woman.

The latest charges allege that he raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2005, and raped another woman twice - in November 2009 and November 2010.

In January, Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting two women in 2013. Then in April, a further charge alleging that he assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2010 was added.

Los Angeles officials have already started extradition proceedings, however this has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another extradition hearing is set to take place in December.

In March, Weinstein himself was said to have tested positive for coronavirus in a prison in upstate New York.

A spokesman for Weinstein said: "Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed."

The spokesman said they would not comment on the additional charges.

Allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in 2017 when The New York Times first reported incidents dating back over decades.

He issued an apology acknowledging that he had "caused a lot of pain", but disputed the allegations.

As dozens more emerged, Weinstein was sacked from the board of his company and all but banished from Hollywood.

A criminal investigation was launched in New York in late 2017, but Weinstein was not charged until May 2018 when he turned himself in to police.

When he was sentenced to prison in March this year, jurors acquitted him of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which could have seen him given an even longer jail term.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54394175
 
Harvey Weinstein faces six new sexual assault charges

Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six further counts of sexual assault, the Los Angeles District Attorney confirmed.

Friday's charges involve two victims of alleged incidents that occurred more than 10 years ago.

Weinstein now faces 11 sexual assault charges in Los Angeles County involving five women, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

In March, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

During that trial in New York, the 68-year-old was found guilty of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act against one woman and third-degree rape of another woman.

The latest charges allege that he raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2005, and raped another woman twice - in November 2009 and November 2010.

In January, Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting two women in 2013. Then in April, a further charge alleging that he assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2010 was added.

Los Angeles officials have already started extradition proceedings, however this has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another extradition hearing is set to take place in December.

In March, Weinstein himself was said to have tested positive for coronavirus in a prison in upstate New York.

A spokesman for Weinstein said: "Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed."

The spokesman said they would not comment on the additional charges.

Allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in 2017 when The New York Times first reported incidents dating back over decades.

He issued an apology acknowledging that he had "caused a lot of pain", but disputed the allegations.

As dozens more emerged, Weinstein was sacked from the board of his company and all but banished from Hollywood.

A criminal investigation was launched in New York in late 2017, but Weinstein was not charged until May 2018 when he turned himself in to police.

When he was sentenced to prison in March this year, jurors acquitted him of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which could have seen him given an even longer jail term.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54394175

After hearing the news from his lawyers HW be like
download.jpg
 
Lawyers for disgraced American film producer Harvey Weinstein have launched an appeal against his conviction for rape and sexual assault.

Weinstein, 69, was convicted in New York City in February 2020 and later sentenced to 23 years in prison.

It was seen as a landmark moment in the #MeToo movement against the sexual abuse and harassment of women.

Weinstein, formerly one of Hollywood's most powerful figures, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

He has vowed to clear his name. Filed in New York State Supreme Court, the long-anticipated appeal signals the start of what is expected to be a lengthy attempt to have his conviction quashed.

Weinstein's lawyers argue that the judge made several errors that denied Weinstein the right to a fair trial.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56642644
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Metropolitan Police force has been authorised to charge Harvey Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London in August 1996.

It follows a review of evidence gathered by the force in its investigation into the 70-year-old, said Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division.

"The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial," she added.

The Met Police said in a statement that the alleged offences took place between 31 July and 31 August 1996 and that the alleged victim is a woman who is now aged in her 50s.

Unlike some other countries, the UK does not have a statute of limitations for rape or sexual assault.

Once charges are authorised by the CPS a suspect must next be formally charged by police before court proceedings can begin.


SKY
 
Weinstein never going to get out of prison is he.

Lord knows the true extent of what he used to get up to.
 
Harvey Weinstein found guilty in second sex crimes trial

Former Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of raping a woman.

The two-month trial heard how Weinstein used his influence to lure women into private meetings before attacking them.

The 70-year-old Oscar winner is facing up to 24 years in prison when he is sentenced.

He is already serving 23 years in jail after he was convicted of rape and sexual assault at his first trial in New York two years ago.

Weinstein was found guilty on Monday of rape and two sexual assault charges involving an accuser, known as Jane Doe 1 to protect her anonymity.

The jury could not reach verdicts on allegations by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and a woman known as Jane Doe 2. A mistrial was declared on those counts.

He was also acquitted of sexual battery against an accuser known as Jane Doe 3.

The Shakespeare in Love and Pulp Fiction producer and co-founder of the entertainment company Miramax was wearing a grey suit and looked pale at the court in Los Angeles on Monday.

He was not using a wheelchair as he had done at previous court appearances.

When he heard guilty on count one, the former Hollywood producer looked down. Then the court clerk read guilty on count two and he looked at his lawyer. At one point he stared at the jury.

The trial heard from dozens of witnesses in more than four weeks of often emotional testimony.

But Monday's verdict focused on allegations by four women stemming from 2005-13.

The jury of eight men and four women spent nine days deliberating on three charges of rape and four other sexual assault counts.

The woman whom Weinstein was convicted on Monday of raping, Jane Doe 1, was a Russian-born model.

The trial's first witness, she testified that she was in Los Angeles for an Italian film festival in February 2013 when the producer arrived uninvited at her Beverly Hills hotel room and raped her.

She said after the verdict: "Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back.

"The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein's lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did.

"I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime."

Ms Siebel Newsom gave emotional testimony that she was a documentary filmmaker when she was raped by Weinstein in a hotel room in 2005.

California's first lady said in a statement on Monday after the verdict: "Throughout the trial, Weinstein's lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors.

"The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do."

The only other of the four main accusers to publicly identify herself was Lauren Young.

She said she was a model and aspiring actress and screenwriter when she met Weinstein about a script in 2013.

Ms Young said he had trapped her in a hotel bathroom and sexually assaulted her.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charges involving her.

A massage therapist, Jane Doe 3, testified that Weinstein had trapped and sexually assaulted her in a hotel bathroom in 2010. He was cleared of that attack.

His conviction in New York in 2020 was a landmark moment for the #MeToo movement, which had been calling out widespread sexual abuse and harassment in the film industry for several years.

Weinstein is currently appealing against the New York conviction.

More than 80 women have come forward with accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against Weinstein spanning several decades.

BBC
 
Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty Of Rape And Sexual Assault Case

Disgraced US movie titan Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of the rape and sexual assault of a woman a decade ago, in what prosecutors said was part of his "reign of terror" over aspiring young actresses in Hollywood.

The 70-year-old "Pulp Fiction" producer, who was once one of the most powerful men in the film industry, faces up to 24 years in jail, in addition to a sentence he is already serving for sex crimes in New York.

His victim in the Los Angeles case said Monday she hopes he "never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime."

"Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back," the woman, identified during the trial as Jane Doe #1, said in a statement.

A weeks-long trial heard graphic descriptions of encounters between the once-powerful producer and women who were trying to make their way in the world of movies.

Prosecutors painted a picture of a predatory ogre, who for years used his physical size and his professional prowess to rape and abuse women with impunity.

His victims were left terrorized and afraid for their careers if they spoke out against a man who dominated Tinseltown, prosecutors said.

Rumors of Weinstein's impropriety had circulated in Hollywood for years, but his position at the apex of the industry meant few were prepared to challenge him.

That all changed in 2017 with the publication of bombshell allegations against him, ushering in the #MeToo movement and opening the floodgates for women to speak out against sexual violence in the workplace.

Dozens of women have since alleged they were victims of Weinstein.

His convictions in New York, which landed him with a 23-year jail term, were followed by charges in Los Angeles, ultimately relating to four women.

On Monday after two weeks of deliberation, a jury convicted him of three of the seven counts he faced -- forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object -- all relating to Jane Doe #1 in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.

The eight men and four women on the panel acquitted him of one charge of sexual battery by restraint involving another woman.

They did not reach a verdict on charges relating to the alleged assaults of two other women, one of whom was identified by her lawyers as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on those counts.

Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison for the counts on which he was convicted, but aggravating factors could increase that to 24 years.

Attorneys will be back in court Tuesday for arguments as to sentencing.

- 'Despicable behavior' -

Siebel Newsom welcomed the verdicts.

"Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman," she said.

"He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs. Harvey Weinstein is a serial predator and what he did was rape."

Siebel Newsom said that "throughout the trial, Weinstein's lawyers used sexism, misogyny and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean and ridicule us survivors. This trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do."

The Oscar-winning producer had denied all the charges, with his attorney seeking to portray accusers either as liars who never had sex with his client, or as women who willingly lay on the casting couch, swapping sex for a leg up in the competitive world of filmmaking.

Weinstein, who was credited with making the careers of household names like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, used his power to prey on and silence women, said prosecutor Marlene Martinez.

The jury heard testimony from women who said they had been tricked into being alone with Weinstein in his hotel room.

Several described how they had begged him to stop as he forced himself on them, made them perform oral sex on him, or watch him masturbate, sometimes as he groped them.

"We know the despicable behavior the defendant engaged in," Martinez told the jury in her closing argument, adding Weinstein believed he was so powerful that people would excuse his behavior.

"'That's just Harvey being Harvey. That's just Hollywood.' And for so long that's what everyone did. Everyone just turned their heads," Martinez said.

"It is time for the defendant's reign of terror to end," she added. "It is time for the kingmaker to be brought to justice."

NDTV
 
About time !!
Ruined lives of innocents and ruined everything of my memory with Miramax films from earlier years.
 
Weinstein begs for mercy as he is sentenced for another rape

Ex-film mogul Harvey Weinstein begged for leniency in a Los Angeles court moments before he was given an additional 16 years in prison for rape.

He was convicted of attacking an actress in a hotel room during a film festival in the city in February 2013.

"Please don't sentence me to life in prison," the disgraced Hollywood star told the court. "I don't deserve it."

More than 80 people have made rape and misconduct claims about Weinstein dating back as far as the late 1970s.

The 70-year-old is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for a separate conviction in New York.

Before Thursday's sentencing, Weinstein maintained he was innocent and the victim of a "set-up".

On 19 December, a Los Angeles jury convicted him of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault involving an actress.

The victim, known as Jane Doe 1 to protect her anonymity, spoke in court before the sentence was read.

She recounted the trauma she had endured for "many years" since the assault.

"Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman," she said.

"Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage."

Weinstein, meanwhile, told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench he did not know the victim.

"I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1," he said.

He told the court there were "so many things wrong" with the case and too many "loopholes".

Weinstein called his accuser an "actress with the ability turn on her tears".

...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64736678
 

Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned​


Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction has been overturned by New York's top court, on the basis that he did not receive a fair trial.

The New York Court of Appeals found that prosecutors were allowed to call witnesses whose accusations were not part of the trial.

The ruling said that meant he was tried on past behaviour and not solely on the crimes he was charged with.

Weinstein, 72, will remain in prison for a separate conviction for rape.

The New York court reached its decision on Thursday 4-3, stating:"Order reversed and a new trial ordered".

The Weinstein case was one of the most prominent to arise from the #MeToo movement, which exposed sexual abuse and misbehaviour at the highest levels of the Hollywood film industry and beyond.

His conviction, heralded by activists as a landmark, was first heard by New York's Court of Appeals in February.

 

Weinstein to appear in court after conviction quashed​


Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein is expected back in a New York court on Wednesday, days after his state rape conviction was overturned.

Manhattan prosecutors have indicated they plan to retry his case after an appeals court ruled last week he did not receive a fair trial in 2020.

Weinstein, 72, was admitted to a hospital in the city two days after his conviction was quashed.

He remains jailed because of a separate rape conviction in California.

Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case.

Last week, the New York state appeals court ruled that the judge overseeing the former Hollywood mogul's case had erred when he allowed the testimony of women who made allegations about Weinstein for which he was never charged. The judge had "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes", the appeals court ruled by a vote of 4 to 3. The decision also said the trial judge compounded the error by letting Weinstein be cross-examined in a way that portrayed him in a "highly prejudicial" light.

"The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial," the court found.

In a statement on Friday, the Manhattan prosecutor's office vowed to work towards a second conviction, although it did not provide any timeline.

"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

Arthur Aidala, the movie mogul's lawyer, hailed the decision as a "victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York".

The topic of the hearing on Wednesday is unclear. Mr Aidala said discussions would focus on matters including evidence and scheduling.

One top issue is expected to be where Weinstein will remain. He had been staying in a prison in upstate New York, but was moved to the city after his conviction was quashed.

He was taken to hospital for what his lawyer described as "immediate medical attention" and "a myriad of tests".

Weinstein could be sent to the city's Rikers Island prison, or possibly to California to serve time there.

At his New York trial in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in 2013. He was jailed for 23 years.

Ms Haleyi has said she has reservations about returning to court again to attempt to re-convict Weinstein.

"It was retraumatising and gruelling and exhausting and all the things," she said at a news conference on Friday.

"I definitely don't want to actually go through that again. But for the sake of keeping going and doing the right thing and because it is what happened, I would consider it."

Prosecutors in California say Weinstein's conviction for raping a woman in 2013 will stand up to any appeals challenge.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by over 100 women.

The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York and 23-year prison term galvanised the #MeToo movement against sex abuse by powerful men.

Weinstein has always maintained his innocence and his defence team said at the time of the New York trial that sex between the movie executive and accusers was consensual.

Weinstein co-founded the Miramax film studio, whose hits included Shakespeare in Love, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, and Pulp Fiction.

His films received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.

 
Weinstein in hospital with Covid and double pneumonia

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been moved to a New York prison hospital with multiple ailments including Covid and double pneumonia.

Juda Engelmayer, Weinstein's publicist, said that the 72-year-old had recently tested positive for the virus. He added that his client already has diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, and fluid on his heart and lungs.

Weinstein was jailed for 23 years in New York in 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of a former assistant and an actress. The city's appeals court threw out the conviction in April, finding Weinstein did not get a fair trial.

But the film mogul remains in prison in New York while he awaits a retrial later this year. He was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in a separate rape trial in California, which he is appealing against.

New York City Correction Department records showed on Thursday that Weinstein was at the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward, where he has been multiple times since his conviction.

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, said that he underwent a heart procedure at Bellevue to open a blocked artery shortly after his conviction.

He was again taken to the hospital in April. Arthur Aidala, his lawyer, said at the time that Weinstein was "used to drinking champagne and eating caviar and now he's at the commissary paying for potato chips and M&Ms".

"Mentally, he's fine. He's sharp as a tack. But physically, he's been breaking down for years."

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has recently said it intends to charge Weinstein for "additional violent sexual assaults" over those he was tried for, after more women agreed to give evidence.

The conviction of the Miramax co-founder was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.

A jury found he had sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

BBC
 

UK prosecutors drop Harvey Weinstein indecent assault case​


The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in June 2022 said it had authorised police to charge the disgraced 72-year-old film producer with two counts of indecent assault.

But the CPS, which handles prosecutions in England and Wales, said it had now decided to "discontinue criminal proceedings" against him.

The offences against a woman now in her fifties were alleged to have taken place in London in 1996.

"Following a review of the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein," said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division.

"The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuous review and we have decided that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."

Weinstein was convicted in New York in 2020 of the rape and sexual assault of former actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

But in April New York's highest court overturned Weinstein's conviction on sex crime charges in a shock reversal in one of the defining cases of the #MeToo movement.

The Court of Appeals found the trial judge erred in admitting the testimony of additional women who were allegedly abused by Weinstein but who were not named in the charges brought against him, and ordered a new trial.

He could face a retrial as early as November.

In July, prosecutors in New York also announced that authorities were investigating "additional violent sexual assaults" allegedly carried out by Weinstein that were not subject to a statute of limitations.

 
Harvey Weinstein to stand trial this week in redo of #MeToo case

Harvey Weinstein goes back on trial in New York this week in a redo of the #MeToo-era case in which the disgraced movie mogul was convicted of sexual criminal assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree, but acquitted on three other counts, including the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault.

The legal drama begins with jury selection that is expected to last up to a week. It puts one of the biggest victories of the #MeToo era back in the courtroom just as a backlash against women’s rights – from abortion access to the rise of controversial male influencers like Andrew Tate – unfolds across the US.

Weinstein’s 2020 conviction was overturned in April last year after an appeals court ruled that the judge had unfairly allowed testimony against him from other women whose allegations were not part of the charges against him, with one of the panel, Judge Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, calling it “incredibly prejudicial”.

The new case against the 73-year-old producer will probably be an abridged version of the original case – a remake in movie terms – but with one crucial difference: it includes a new charge based on an allegation from a woman who was not part of the first prosecution.

Additionally, Weinstein was convicted of rape in Los Angeles, which he is appealing in part over testimony from uncharged alleged assaults similarly to New York. Weinstein continues to claim he is innocent, pleading not guilty to all charges brought against him.

But all legal cases are colored by their time and place. Weinstein’s high-powered legal team is betting that the five years on from the first trial, and nearly eight since the #MeToo movement exploded into the public consciousness with Ronan Farrow’s explosive New Yorker account of Weinstein’s alleged abuses, US attitudes toward high-profile cases such as this one may have changed.

“It’s a social justice witch-hunt,” Weinstein’s publicist Juda Engelmayer told the Guardian last week.

Weinstein himself has not been shy in courting conservative supporters. “I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Candace Owens for believing in me and helping me reach millions of new supporters, and to Joe Rogan for amplifying that support even further,” Weinstein said recently.

Owens has expressed sympathy toward Weinstein, despite calling him an “immoral man”, and questioned prosecutor’s motives during a live stream in February. Powerful podcaster Rogan has previously applauded Weinstein’s work, saying he made “some awesome movies”.

Aside from the political landscape, there is now the question of Weinstein’s health. He has been held in New York’s Rikers Island jail complex awaiting retrial. In January, he begged a Manhattan judge on Wednesday to bring his trial forward, saying he wasn’t sure he would live until the spring while incarcerated in the “hellhole”.

Last year, Weinstein sued New York City, claiming that he was receiving substandard medical care for conditions that include chronic myeloid leukemia and diabetes, and for negligence. In December, he was rushed to the hospital for “emergent treatment” following an “alarming blood test result”, according to his spokesperson.

Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lead attorney, has said that defense attorneys in the second New York criminal prosecution will not refer to the first, since it was “declared illegal by the highest court in this state”.

Making a criminal case over incidents that are decades old, where it is he-said, she-said and there is no independent witness or physical evidence to corroborate either version, are notoriously difficult to bring.

Weinstein has always claimed any sexual interactions with his accusers were consensual and that – again – is likely to be the core of his fresh defense.

“You may not like Harvey Weinstein. He might be a dirtbag to you. He may try to get over on women, flirting and finagling, just being a cad, but that’s not a crime,” Hermann Walz, a criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The retrial comes after another of the #MeToo era’s most prominent men accused of serial sexual abuse, the comedian Bill Cosby, had his conviction for sexual assault overturned in 2021. It is also being held in the shadow of the impending, high-profile criminal sex-trafficking and prostitution case against Sean “Puffy” Combs, set to begin in May.

Ahead of Weinstein’s retrial, trial judge Curtis Farber has made a number of rulings over evidence and testimony. He granted a prosecution request to call Dawn Hughes, an expert witness on the psychological effects of rape and sexual assault, and said an accuser who also testified in the first trial will be allowed to use the word “force” in her testimony even thought he was previously acquitted of first-degree rape, a charge that requires proof of “forcible compulsion”.

Farber also granted a defense request to strike the term “survivor” to describe Weinstein’s accusers – they will now be referred to as a “complaining witnesses”.

The case jurors will hear centers the accusations of three women: a production assistant who alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006; an aspiring actor who alleges she was raped in 2013; and a new accuser who alleges Weinstein forced oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2006.

Weinstein’s attorneys claim that the additional charge, filed in September, is prejudicial, claiming that prosecutors kept it out of the first trial so they could use it, if needed, in a second.

Weinstein continued to bring himself back into the public eye last week, weighing in on another contemporary civil claim between the actor Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni, claiming that Baldoni was stitched up by the New York Times, just as he asserts he had been when it reported on the sexual abuse claims against them.

“They did the same thing: cherrypicked what fit their story and ignored critical context and facts that could have challenged the narrative,” Weinstein told TMZ.

In response, however, the Times pointed to a letter of apology Weinstein issued after its story was published and in which he spoke of his “regret” and “remorse” over his behavior toward women.

Weinstein’s legal team seems to be betting that his retrial will unfold in a US very different from the one in which his first case did. A New York jury will decide if it is right or not.

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/13/harvey-weinstein-retrial-metoo
 
Harvey Weinstein faces #MeToo retrial as imprisoned movie mogul returns to court

The sequel to the biggest victory of the #MeToo era starts Tuesday when disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein is retried in New York for alleged sex crimes.

It could take five days to seat a jury, Judge Curtis Farber has said.

A jury in the same courthouse convicted Weinstein in 2020 of sex assault before New York's highest court overturned the conviction, deciding the judge had improperly allowed certain testimony from women whose accusations were not part of the criminal charges.

His attorneys have said they hope a changing political climate could make the outcome of Weinstein's second New York trial different than the first.

Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including a new allegation from a woman who came forward after his conviction.

One of the women alleged Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006. A then-aspiring actor alleged she was raped in 2013. The new accuser alleged Weinstein forced oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2006.

The defense accused prosecutors of withholding the new accuser's account as a hedge, but prosecutors denied that, and the judge declined to dismiss the case.

The alleged victims who testify will no longer be referred to as survivors after the judge granted a defense request to call Weinstein's accusers complaining witnesses. They are expected to testify under their real names.

Farber granted a request from the Manhattan district attorney's office to call a witness who is an expert on the psychological effects of rape.

The decision to re-try Weinstein fell to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who reconfigured the way his office handles sex crimes. The Special Victims Division has successfully prosecuted a man who raped two young women at knifepoint after responding to their online advertisements for commercial sex, a man who raped a cleaner in the building where he worked as the superintendent and a man who sexually abused two children living in the shelter where he worked.

Weinstein, who has appeared in court in a wheelchair, sued New York City over his treatment and questioned whether he would live through a second trial while incarcerated in the "hellhole" of Rikers Island.

SOURCE: https://abcnews.go.com/US/harvey-we...ial-imprisoned-movie-mogul/story?id=120807395
 
Weinstein used 'unfettered power' to sexually abuse women, rape retrial hears

Attorneys delivered opening statements on Wednesday in the New York retrial of Harvey Weinstein, with prosecutors accusing the disgraced film producer of using his immense power in Hollywood to sexually harass and abuse three women.

"The defendant wanted their bodies, and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got," Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey told jurors on Wednesday.

In his third trial in five years, Weinstein is accused of sexually abusing a former television production assistant, an aspiring actress and a model.

The former film mogul has pleaded not guilty, and in court his lawyer sought to cast doubt on the women's claims and credibility.

Attorney Arthur Aidala told the jury the prosecution case would "fall flat on its face" after they heard all the evidence.

"They're going to ask you to make sense of things that just don't make sense," he said.

A court of appeals overturned Weinstein's previous conviction for sex crimes in New York last April, before he was indicted on new sexual assault charges in the state in September.

Last week, 12 jurors - seven women and five men - were chosen to weigh Weinstein's fate.

On Wednesday, Ms Lucey spent an hour delivering an opening statement, telling jurors that three women had fallen victim to the abuse of a "Hollywood gatekeeper" who held "unfettered power for over 30 years in that industry".

The retrial in New York is centred on two women who brought allegations against Weinstein for his 2020 trial, actress Jessica Mann and former TV production assistant Miriam Haley. This time, the trial also includes allegations from former Polish model and actress Kaja Sokola, who has accused Weinstein of assaulting her when she was 16.

On Wednesday, Ms Lucey recounted the three women's stories of assault and harassment, sparing few details. The alleged encounters often involved Weinstein bringing women to his room under the guise of a business meeting, before he allegedly forced himself onto them.

Victims "kept their shame and their pain to themselves" for years because of Weistein's role as a man who "defined the field" of acting and film, Ms Lucey said.

During his hour of opening statements that followed, Weinstein's attorney took a combative approach, accusing the women of having "mutually beneficial" sexual relationships with Weinstein and being motivated by money.

"These women are addicted to that fame," Mr Aidala said. "They want to be heroes."

Mr Aidala argued that Weinstein could not have assaulted the women because they kept in contact with him and sent him friendly messages after the encounters.

Last April, a court of appeals said Weinstein, now 73, did not receive a fair trial in New York in 2020 because the judge overseeing his case allowed testimony from women who made allegations against him for conduct he was never charged over.

Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison after being convicted.

He was also found guilty of rape in a separate trial in California in 2022 and was sentenced to 16 years in that case.

Weinstein has several medical conditions, including cancer and diabetes. In September, he was taken to hospital for heart surgery and has been held in a secure hospital unit.

A judge has approved a request from Weinstein's lawyers to let him stay at the Bellevue hospital in Manhattan when he is not in court.

His lawyers had complained that he was receiving poor medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at the infamous Rikers Island prison facility - which officials have long said they plan to close - though the move has been delayed.

In total, Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by more than 100 women.

He is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, as he has yet to begin serving his 16-year California sentence.

The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sex abuse by powerful men.

Speaking to jurors on Wednesday, Ms Lucey said the movement had allowed the three women to come forward in the criminal case against Weinstein after they "suddenly realized they were not alone".

Before the allegations against him emerged, Weinstein and his brother Bob were among Hollywood's ultimate power players.

Weinstein co-founded Miramax film studio, whose hits included Shakespeare in Love, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, and Pulp Fiction.

His films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 wins.

The former film mogul has also faced a number of civil lawsuits, including from a group of women who accused him of sexual harassment and rape and reached a $19m (£14.2) settlement with him in 2020.

BBC
 
Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault after New York retrial

Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of sexual assault in New York, after his sex crimes conviction in the state was overturned last year.

A panel of seven female and five male jurors deliberated for five days in the six-week trial before unanimously voting to convict the disgraced film mogul on one of three counts.

The jury found him not guilty of an additional sexual assault charge, and has yet to return a verdict on a charge of rape.

The conviction is in addition to a 16-year sentence that Weinstein has yet to serve after being convicted of sex crimes in Los Angeles.

The trial was based on the testimony of three women - former television production assistant Miriam Haley, actress Jessica Mann, and model Kaja Sokola. All three accused Weinstein of using his power in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse them.

On Wednesday, jurors found Weinstein guilty of assaulting Ms Haley, but found him not guilty of assaulting Ms Sokola. They have yet to return a verdict on a rape charge involving Ms Mann, and plan to resume deliberations on Thursday.

Ms Haley said the verdict gave her "hope that there is new awareness around sexual violence and that the myth of the perfect victim is fading".

An appeals court overturned Weinstein's previous conviction for sex crimes in New York last April, finding the 73-year-old did not receive a fair trial in 2020 because a judge allowed testimony from women who made allegations against him beyond the charges at hand.

Weinstein was then indicted on new sexual assault charges in the state in September.

In a statement Wednesday, Weinstein's spokesperson said the trial was "fair until we got to the jury deliberations".

"More than one juror had complained that other jurors had preconceived notions and are using their beliefs of Harvey's life as evidence of guilt," the spokesperson said. "We believe there are serious appellate issues and they will be explored."

Jury deliberations have been tense over the past week. This week, the foreperson accused some jurors of "attacking" others and trying to change their minds. He said jurors were considering Weinstein's past and other allegations outside the realm of the case in making decisions. There were also allegations that one juror had threatened to fight another juror.

In the end, the judge said he would give the jury an instruction about only considering the allegations in the case, and nothing else.

Weinstein - who has cancer and diabetes - stayed at Bellevue Hospital rather than Riker's Island jail during the trial. He sat in a wheelchair for the proceedings.

The retrial in New York centred on two women who brought allegations against Weinstein during his 2020 trial, Ms Mann and Ms Haley.

It also included new allegations from Ms Sokola, a Polish former model and actress, who accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her when she was 19. The jury on Wednesday found him not guilty in that assault.

Reacting to the verdict, Ms Sokola said she was “relieved that Harvey Weinstein will be held accountable for some of his crimes”.

“Coming forward was the hardest thing I've ever done. I owed it to myself, and to the other women who survived him, to make sure that the world knows what kind of man Harvey Weinstein is.

“Speaking out was an act of power and it allowed me to reclaim the pride and confidence he tried to take from me,” she added in a statement.

The three women testified for days about the sexual abuse they alleged they endured at the hands of Weinstein.

All three said they met Weinstein when they were young and looking for work opportunities in the entertainment industry. He then forced himself on them during private meetings at hotels and his homes, the women alleged.

Weinstein's attorneys attempted to chip away at the credibility of the women, showing warm messages some of the women exchanged with the film mogul after the alleged assaults.

In total, Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by more than 100 women. While not all reports resulted in criminal charges, the California conviction means he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.

The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sex abuse by powerful men.

Before the allegations against him emerged, Weinstein and his brother Bob were among Hollywood's ultimate power players.

Weinstein co-founded Miramax film studio, whose hits included Shakespeare in Love, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, and Pulp Fiction.

Weinstein has also faced a number of civil lawsuits, including from a group of women who accused him of sexual harassment and rape. The case resulted in a $19m (£14.2) settlement in 2020.

BBC
 
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