The jury in the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct trial has reached a verdict and he has been found guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. He was acquitted on three other charges.
Weinstein, faced two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of rape and one count of criminal sexual act stemming from the allegations of “The Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra, hairstylist Jessica Mann, and former “Project Runway” production assistant Mimi Haleyi.
Harvey Weinstein, 67, was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood prior to his fall from grace when several women came forward with reports that he had raped and sexually harassed them in 2018. He is the co-founder of Miramax which produced several hugely successful independent films. He also co-founded The Weinstein Company which became a major film production company.
He was ousted from his company following the scandals that have snowballed into this guilty verdict Monday, February 24, 2020. Over 80 women, including models, former staff, and actresses, have come forward alleging various degrees of sexual misconduct against the mogul. Many of them claimed that they were victimised professionally and threatened by Harvey Weinstein.
The jury resumed deliberations Monday, February 24, 2020, returning after Friday’s cliffhanger in which jurors questioned New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke as to whether they were legally allowed a deadlock on two charges with the heaviest possible prison sentence while reaching consensus on lesser counts of rape and assault.
On Friday, Burke instructed the jury to continue its deliberations, urging a consensus on all charges. After a weekend off, jurors were back in the jury room at 9:30 AM ET today. Weinstein arrived at New York State Supreme Court with what looked like a bit more unshaven scruff than usual.
When the scandals broke, he was forced out of his companies and his co-founder, Bob Weinstein, who is also his brother took his place at the helm of the powerful firms.
This is a developing story.
