Harvey Weinstein found guilty of sexual assault charge at retrial
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of sexual assault in his New York retrial.
After Weinstein’s sex crimes conviction in the state was overturned last year, another six-week trial commenced to consider the three counts of assault against his name.
The jury, made up of seven female and five male jurors, deliberated for five days during the six-week trial before finding Weinstein guilty of sexually assaulting former television production assistant Miriam Haley. However, he was acquitted of a second charge of sexually assaulting model Kaja Sokola. They have yet to return a verdict on a charge of rape against actor Jessica Mann.
The conviction comes in addition to a 16-year sentence that Weinstein has yet to serve after being convicted of sex crimes in Los Angeles. Deliberations for the count of rape are set to resume on June 12th.
The 73-year-old denied all the charges against him and pleaded not guilty in the retrial, stating in a recent interview from prison that he has been “wrongfully convicted.”
An appeals court overturned Weinstein’s previous conviction in New York in April 2024, finding that the businessman did not receive a fair trial because of testimonies allowed from women who made allegations beyond the charges at hand.
This time around, jury deliberations were also reportedly tense. Some jurors were accused of “attacking” others and attempting to change their minds. There were also allegations that one juror had threatened to fight another juror. Weinstein
Weinstein has been staying at Bellevue Hospital, rather than Riker’s Island jail, during the trial, due to his cancer and diabetes. He sat in a wheelchair during proceedings, forced to hear all three women testifying for days about the sexual abuse they allegedly enduring at the hands of Weinstein.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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