Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of sex crime and rape by a New York jury, after a trial in which six women testified that he had sexually assaulted them. However, he was cleared of the top two charges of predatory sexual assault. The verdict came after a jury of seven men and five men deliberated over it for five days.
He has been convicted of criminal sexual assault based on the testimony of Miriam Haley, a former television production assistant, and rape in the third degree, based on the testimony of former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Out of the six women who testified at the trial against Weinstein, he faced criminal charges in connection to only the two of them. The others were allowed to testify by the jury in order to establish a pattern of behaviour. Weinstein will be sentenced at a later date. He’ll be facing 5-25 years for the criminal sexual assault conviction and 18 months to four years for the third-degree rape conviction.
In 2017, Harvey Weinstein was accused of rape and sexual assault by many women in the industry. The Harvey Weinstein reportage by the New York Times kicked off Hollywood’s #TimesUp movement. Since then, Harvey has denied all accusations against him. In 2019, American music artist Madonna also came out against his predatory behaviour.
In an interview with The New York Times, she described his behaviour as “incredibly sexually flirtatious” and “forward” when the two were working together. Madonna said, “he was married at the time, and I certainly wasn’t interested.”
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