Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of two felony sex crimes. A jury of seven men and fiven women reached a verdict in a Manhattan trial on Monday. The trial —which saw five days of deliberations— resulted in Weinstein’s conviction of third-degree rape and criminal sexual assault in the first degree.
Weinstein faces a possible sentence between five and twenty-nine years. Judge Justice James M. Burked ruled that Weinstein would be sent to jail to await sentencing.
Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in 2013.
Third-degree rape is defined as sexual intercourse with another person who either is incapable of consent “for some other reason than incapacity to consent.”, or is less than 17 years old while the defendant is 21 or older. A charge that carries a sentence of eighteen months to four years.
Weinstein was acquitted on two counts of predatory sexual assault — which carried a potential life sentence— and first-degree rape of Mann.
Six women testified against Weinstein at this trial. 28 witnesses were called by the prosecution over 12 days, including three “prior bad acts” witnesses, who alleged that Weinstein had sexually assaulted them in his apartment and in hotel suites.
Weinstein faces charges in a separate case in Los Angeles. Californian prosecutors announced their indictment on the first day of Weinstein’s Manhattan trial. The Los Angeles case will tackle the accounts of two unidentified women, who accuse Weinstein of attacking them in February 2013.
The allegations against Weinstein set in motion the #MeToo movement and saw at least 80 women accuse him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. Amongst these women include high-profile actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman.
