Harvey Weinstein Is Guilty of Rape and Criminal Sexual Assault
On Monday morning, after five days of deliberation, a jury found Harvey Weinstein guilty on two counts in a New York court: criminal sexual assault in the first degree, and rape in the third degree. The convictions carry a possible sentence of 29 years. He was facing five charges in total and was acquitted of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape, which could have resulted in a life sentence. Six women in total testified against him during the trial, two of whom—Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann—brought forth the five criminally actionable charges.
When the verdict was read out, Weinstein was "impassive," according to New York magazine. The 67-year-old was cuffed and escorted to jail without his walker. He will remain in jail until his sentencing on March 11.
Weinstein's predatory behavior was reportedly an open secret in the entertainment industry, but it did not gain national attention until October 2017, when The New York Times and The New Yorker published stories on the dozens of allegations against him. In the lead-up to the trial, Weinstein's lawyer Donna Rotunno said, "I'm not here to say he was not guilty of committing sins. But there's a difference between sins and crimes, and I don't think he's a rapist." Today's verdict means that, legally speaking, Weinstein is officially a convicted rapist. Weinstein is also set to appear at a separate trial in Los Angeles County, where he's charged with four felony counts of sexual assault. A starting date has not yet been set.
At a post-trial press conference, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told reporters, “It’s rape whether committed by an indigent person or man of immense power, prestige and privilege. Rape is rape whether the survivor reports within an hour, within a year, or perhaps never.” Vance was previously criticized for not bringing sex-crime charges against Weinstein in 2015, angering police who had an audio tape of Weinstein admitting to an incident. Rotunno, meanwhile, said after the trial that Harvey Weinstein "took [the verdict] like a man," and would be appealing.
Originally Appeared on GQ
