Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of sexual assault charges in New York, concluding a three week trial that revived accusations from a successful prosecution in 2020 which was overturned last year on an appeal.
Harvey Weinstein has been convicted on one of the three charges leveled against him, committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, by a panel of seven female and five male jurors based in Manhattan. The jury voted unanimously and found the film mogul guilty of one charge of sexual assault.
In the verdict, Weinstein was found guilty of sexually assaulting former television production assistant Miriam Haley and the accused was acquitted from another charge of sexual assault leveled by model Kaja Sokola. In the case of actress Jessica Mann, who has alleged that Weinstein raped her, the jury couldn’t arrive on a unanimous verdict and the judge advised the panel to continue deliberations.
Upon hearing the verdict, 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”.
The conviction in New York comes at a time when Weinstein is yet to serve a 16 year prison sentence after being convicted of sex crimes in Los Angeles. All three women have accused Weinstein of using his power deliberately to sexually abuse them.
During the trial, Weinstein urged the judge to declare it as a mistrial since some of the jurors reported tension in the deliberation room. Requesting Judge Curtis Farber, Weinstein said “This is my life that’s on the line. I am not getting a fair trial, you are endangering me, Your Honor.”
An appeal court had overturned Weinstein’s conviction for sex crimes in New York in April 2024, wherein the court had concluded that the 73-year-old media mogul had not received a fair trial in 2020.
