Archived from Revolution Now Magazine Breaking News Department 2020
By: H. Elizabeth Williams
Harvey Weinstein was declared guilty Monday morning after a weeks-long trial and is now facing five to twenty-five years in prison on the count of first-degree criminal sex act for his sexual assault on production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi, and up to four years on a third-degree rape count on the aspiring actress Jessica Mann encounter. The judge may consider running these sentences consecutively for a maximum of 29 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 11. The verdict was a partial win for the prosecution: he was found not guilty of the most severe charges for predatory sexual assault, which would have acknowledged a pattern that included forcing sex on actress Annabella Sciorra in 1993 or 1994. Due to this, he avoided the possibility of life in prison.
Weinstein was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody, and his bail was revoked.
The split verdict was rendered during the fifth day of deliberations by a jury of seven men and five women who considered a total of more than 24 hours. The prosecution brought a total of 28 witnesses, and the defense brought seven.
With Harvey Weinstein’s New York trial now having a verdict, attention will now shift west to California, where the disgraced movie mogul will face similar charges. Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced four felony charges that accuse Weinstein of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents over a two-day period in 2013.
The names of the two alleged victims have been withheld by the D.A., and the investigation is still ongoing, according to the D.A. 's office.
Weinstein has not yet entered a plea. In his response to allegations raised by more than 80 women, Weinstein, through his attorneys and spokespeople, has said that he only engaged in consensual sexual encounters.
However, the jury determined Monday that Weinstein forced oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in July 2006 and raped former aspiring actress Jessica Mann at a hotel in 2013.
The case is a landmark of the #MeToo movement, which has brought an avalanche of sexual assault and harassment allegations against powerful men and prompted conversations about gender and misconduct in all walks of life. The movement was jump-started after the New York Times and the New Yorker published allegations against Weinstein in late 2017. The verdict sends a message of just how much progress has been made. That being said, the movement - and the trial - is far from over.
Mimi Haleyi arrives to testify in Weinstein’s trial on Jan. 27 (Source: Washington post)
Jessica Mann arrives to testify in Weinstein’s trial on Jan. 31 (Source: Washington post)
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