Harvey Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison (file)
Former Hollywood producer
was convicted on Monday by a New York jury of sexual assault, a win for the #MeToo movement that inspired women to go public with allegations of misconduct against powerful men.
The 67-year-old Weinstein, once one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, was convicted in 2006 for sexual assault on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and in 2013 for raping Jessica Mann, a once aspiring actress.
He has to face up to 25 years in prison.
He was acquitted of the most serious charge, the predatory sexual assault that could result in a life sentence.
During his trial, Weinstein often looked weak and entered the courthouse with a stroller. Sometimes he relied on his chief lawyer, Donna Rotunno, for help.
"He got some good acting tips," actress Rose McGowan said at the start of the trial on January 6, when she protested with actress Rosanna Arquette and other Weinstein prosecutors near the courthouse.
Weinstein made a name for himself with critically acclaimed films such as "The English Patient" and "Shakespeare in Love".
More than 80 women, including famous actresses, had accused him of decades of sexual misconduct. He had rejected the allegations and said sexual encounters were consensual.
Paul Callan, a former New York state attorney who is not involved in the case, said Weinstein had strong reasons to argue that the conviction judgment should be overturned, and found that one of the jurors was the author of an upcoming book was about teenage girls and "predatory" older men.
During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial robber who had manipulated women with the promise of opening doors in Hollywood, persuading them to hotel rooms or private apartments, and then overpowering and violently attacking them.
"The man who was sitting there was not just a Titan in Hollywood, he was a rapist," said Meghan Hast, Manhattan district attorney general, during the opening litigation.
Weinstein sat at the defense table and often looked listless, although he sometimes looked attentively at his lawyers when they interrogated his accusers.
& # 39; JEKYLL AND HYDE & # 39;
During the many weeks of the trial, the prosecutor methodically extracted graphic statements from several prosecutors, including Haleyi, who said Weinstein had invited her to his SoHo house after working on one of his television productions.
When she arrived, Weinstein took her to a bedroom, held her on the bed, and orally forced herself to pull out her tampon, Haleyi told the jury.
Mann, a once-aspiring actress, said that shortly after meeting Weinstein, she had an "extremely humiliating" relationship with him that did not involve sexual intercourse until she raped her in 2013.
She described Weinstein as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character: he was charming in public, but often showed terrible anger when they were alone, Mann said.
At some point, she started sobbing uncontrollably at the stand and asked the judge to end the test early.
Weinstein was accused of assaulting Haleyi and Mann, but the prosecutor supported their case by calling several other prosecutors as witnesses.
One of these women, the "Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra, told the jury that Weinstein came to her apartment on a winter night in 1993 or 1994 and raped her.
Although the allegation was too old to be charged as a separate crime, the prosecutor offered to show that Weinstein was a repeat sex offender.
Three other women – costume designer Dawn Dunning, model Tarale Wulff, and actress Lauren Young – testified that they were persuaded to meet Weinstein for professional reasons, and then groped or raped.
The statement of "previous bad deeds" is generally not allowed in criminal proceedings, but an exception to the law allowed prosecutors to call these women to show that Weinstein had a specific intention or behavior.
Legal experts said the women have provided strong evidence that is difficult for the defense to overcome.
Dunning testified that the producer groped her in 2004 and offered her film roles in return for three-way sex with him and his assistant, which she declined.
Young, a model and an actress, testified that the producer caught her in a hotel bathroom in 2013, masturbated in front of her while she felt her breasts, and said, "All actresses will do it to make it."
"LAST DEFENSE LINE"
Throughout the case, the defense said that regret had led the accusers to take consensual incidents and label them as crimes.
Weinstein's lawyers focused on friendly messages and constant contact between the women and Weinstein.
During the cross-examination against Haleyi, for example, the defense showed her a message that she had sent Weinstein with "much love" after her alleged attack.
Defense lawyers repeatedly suggested that man willingly had sex with Weinstein to advance her career.
Weinstein never testified in his defense, although he told reporters that he wanted it. One of his lawyers said the case was too weak to put him on the stand.
Weinstein's lawyer Rotunno told the jury during the final arguments that they were "the last line of defense" against "overzealous" law enforcement and that women were "responsible" for the "choices they make to advance their careers."
Prosecutors pushed back against allegations that his accusers were not credible and that they were responsible for the alleged attacks.
Deputy District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said it didn't matter whether they continued to contact Weinstein after the alleged attacks.
Illuzzi rejected a defense claim that Mann had a loving relationship with Weinstein, but said it didn't matter whether she was "head over heels in love with him."
"He still wasn't allowed to rape her on March 18, 2013," she said.
Weinstein is still charged with sexual assault in California that was announced just hours after his New York rape trial began. Dozens of women have filed civil lawsuits against him.
