Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years, effectively ensuring the former Hollywood mogul and convicted rapist will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Weinstein's sentencing was held in downtown Los Angeles on the morning of Thursday, February 23, nearly two months after his trial concluded with a jury convicting him on three counts of rape and sexual assault, reports Variety. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York, after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in that jurisdiction in his 2020 criminal trial.
On Thursday, the judge ordered Weinstein to serve his LA sentence consecutively after New York. Before he was sentenced, Weinstein addressed the court, making one final plea to Judge Lisa B Lench. "I maintain that I'm innocent. This is about money and coming after me. Please don't sentence me to life in prison. I don't deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. There is no evidence. This is a setup. I beg your mercy," he claimed.
Weinstein's defence, led by Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, asked the judge to sentence him to three years per charge, urging her to look to the man he was "before he became accused as a sexual predator," and saying that he has "become a caricature because of the #MeToo movement."
After Weinstein and his attorneys spoke, the judge sentenced Weinstein to 16 years for the three charges on which the jury found him guilty. "These are not easy decisions to make, but this is my decision," Lench said.
All three charges on which Weinstein was convicted were based on the counts relating to Jane Doe #1, a European model who testified she was raped by Weinstein in 2013. Jane Doe #1 (all the women who testified against Harvey Weinstein are referred to as Jane Doe to maintain anonymity) appeared in court, alongside her daughter, to deliver a victim impact statement. "It is extremely difficult for me to stand here, 10 years later, as the effects of this rape are still raw, and difficult to discuss. I have been carrying this weight, this trauma, this irrational belief that it was my fault for years. His selfish, disgusting actions have greatly impacted me and my life. What he did to me was horrible,†she said, addressing the judge.
Thursday's sentencing ensures that Weinstein, who will turn 71 next month, will spend the remainder of his life in prison. His team, however, is still fighting for Weinstein's freedom. Werksman and Jackson said that they will be appealing the Los Angeles conviction. In New York, the Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in the state, agreed to hear Weinstein's appeal of his 2020 sex crimes conviction.
In his LA trial, which ran from October through December 2022, prosecutors argued that Weinstein was a predator who used his power to lure and attack women in hotel rooms under the guise of a business meeting or audition.
Weinstein initially faced 11 charges in LA, but four charges, all relating to Jane Doe #5, were dismissed in the midst of the trial. The jury delivered a split verdict, convicting him on the three counts relating to Jane Doe #1 but acquitted him of the sexual battery of a massage therapist, identified as Jane Doe #3. They could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges involving two other accusers, aspiring actor and screenwriter Lauren Young, known as Jane Doe #2 in the case, and the First Partner of California, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who was Jane Doe #4. The judge declared a mistrial on those three charges. Weinstein has been accused by more than 100 women who have publicly come forward with allegations of sexual assault, abuse and harassment that have spanned decades.