PanaTimes

Monday, Sep 25, 2023

Jury finds former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape

Jury finds former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and two other sexual assault counts by a Los Angeles jury on Monday, marking the second conviction of the onetime Hollywood kingmaker who became the face of #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago.

The jury found Weinstein guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving one woman, but acquitted him of charges relating to a second alleged victim, the Los Angeles Superior Court announced.

The jury could not reach a verdict on two allegations, including rape, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who previously disclosed she was Jane Doe 4 in the trial. The jury did not reach a verdict on charges relating to one other woman.

Weinstein, 70, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual misconduct in New York.

The former model and actress that Weinstein was convicted of raping at a Los Angeles hotel in 2013, and known in court as Jane Doe 1, issued a statement shortly 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."

Weinstein faces up to 18 years in prison on the counts for which he was convicted, but aggravating factors could increase that to 24 years. Lawyers return to court on Tuesday to deliver arguments about aggravating factors.

Elizabeth Fegan, Siebel Newsom's attorney, said in a statement: "While we are heartened that the jury found Weinstein guilty on some of the counts, we are disappointed that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on Jane Doe 4," Fegan said.

"She will continue to fight for all women and all survivors of abuse against a system that permits the victim to be shamed and re-traumatized in the name of justice."

In Los Angeles, Weinstein faced seven counts of rape and sexual assault from four women during encounters between 2004 and 2013.

The jury acquitted Weinstein of a felony charge of

sexual battery by restraint involving an alleged attack on one woman, Jane Doe 3, in 2010. Jurors were unable to reach verdicts on charges of sexual battery by restraint involving an alleged attack in February 2013 against Jane Doe 2 and counts of forcible oral copulation and forcible rape involving an alleged attack against Siebel Newsom in 2005.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement: "I am of course disappointed that the jury was split on some of the counts, but hope its partial verdicts bring at least some measure of justice to the victims."

During five weeks of testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusers including documentary filmmaker Siebel Newsom said Weinstein lured them to what they believed were business meetings.


JUDGE DECLARES MISTRIAL ON SOME COUNTS


Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the counts where the jury could not reach a verdict, including the allegations made by Siebel Newsom.

The women had alleged during often graphic testimony that the powerful producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love" masturbated in front of them and groped or raped them.

Siebel Newsom and three other women offered testimony that provided the basis for the two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault that Weinstein faced.

Four additional women offered similar stories to buttress the prosecution's arguments that Weinstein routinely abused his position as a Hollywood power player to prey on women.

They said he promised help with securing an audition or a book deal, then arranged meetings where staff disappeared and left them alone with him.

Weinstein said all of his sexual encounters were consensual and pleaded not guilty.

Defense attorneys argued that the women willingly had sex with Weinstein because they believed he would help their careers, part of what they said was a widespread "casting couch" culture in the film industry. In two of the cases, they said the sexual contact was fabricated.

They also highlighted that some of the accusers, including Siebel Newsom, kept in contact with Weinstein, which they argued did not make sense if he had attacked them.

Siebel Newsom attended a pre-Oscars party hosted by Weinstein with her husband, and sent Weinstein dozens of friendly emails over the years.

Weinstein was convicted of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020. He was extradited from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021.

In New York, Weinstein is appealing his conviction and prison sentence.

Allegations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement of women speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media, politics and other spheres.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanaTimes
Close
0:00
0:00
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×