Harvey Weinstein received 16-year prison sentence for sexual offense. In a Los Angeles court, former film executive Harvey Weinstein pleaded for mercy just before being sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison for rape.
Harvey Weinstein is now more likely to spend the rest of his life in prison after being given a 16-year prison extension on Thursday for the rape of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room.
Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the MeToo movement, was sentenced on Thursday, February 23 to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. (Photo via https://www.rappler.com/)
Weinstein was ordered by a Los Angeles court to complete his most recent sentence for the assault of a European actress ten years ago after completing his 23-year term for a different New York conviction for sex offenses.
The Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love” producer begged the judge for “mercy” while he was in a wheelchair and present in court.
Don’t give me a life sentence in prison, please. I am unworthy of it. There are so many issues with this case, he declared.
Harvey Weinstein, 70, is appealing in both cases. (Photo via https://www.ndtv.com/)
But forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object, and forcible rape, Judge Lisa Lench gave him three consecutive sentences of 16 years.
In a devastating address, an unnamed actress appealed with the judge to give Weinstein “the highest penalty permissible.”
She claimed that “his self-centered, disgusting acts have gravely affected my life.”
“A long enough prison term cannot repair the harm.”
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According to Weinstein’s lawyers, the jury’s verdict and sentence from the Los Angeles case will be appealed straight away.
In-depth testimony about interactions between the formerly dominant film producer and several young women trying to get into Hollywood was heard throughout the trial.
The prosecution contends that Weinstein was able to manipulate and assault women for years with impunity because of his then-powerful position in the business.
According to the prosecution, had the women publicly charged Weinstein at the time, they would have run the risk of ruining their chances of landing future Hollywood jobs.
Weinstein was ultimately convicted guilty of assaulting one woman in the Los Angeles case, but acquitted of sexual battery against a second woman.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charges brought against two other women, one of whom was identified by her attorneys as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the current wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
On Thursday, the defense’s request for a new trial or a lesser verdict was denied just before the sentencing procedure started.
Harvey Weinstein leaves court in New York City. The former Hollywood megaproducer was sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11. Photo via Richard Drew/AP
According to Weinstein’s counsel, the judge restricted their cross-examination and prevented them from introducing relevant material about the rape victim, such as Facebook communications with a fictitious lover.
Yet Lench said that the information had been “properly removed.”
Since Weinstein was a power person in Hollywood, few people were willing to publicly criticize him despite the fact that his behavior had been the subject of whispers in the entertainment industry for years.
In 2017, he was the target of shocking allegations that set off the #MeToo movement and gave hundreds of women the confidence to speak out against professional sexual harassment.
Now, dozens of women have accused Weinstein of being predatory.
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In New York’s intermediate appellate court last June, Weinstein lost his initial appeal against his criminal conviction and sentence.
But he also filed a second appeal of that matter with the New York Court of Appeals, which is the highest court.
Numerous other women who had accused the former movie mogul of abuse received $17 million after his conviction in New York in a civil trial.
This month, Weinstein was also sued for damages by the European actress who was found guilty of raping him in Los Angeles.
In the civil lawsuit, negligence, false detention, intentional infliction of mental distress, and sexual battery are all alleged.
According to her case, Weinstein’s actions were reprehensible and motivated by malice, oppression, and deception, which supported the imposition of punitive damages against him.
