CNN –
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of rape and sexual assault against one of four women he was accused of assaulting in Los Angeles, a major conviction in the second trial of a man at the center of the allegations. that fueled the global #MeToo movement. .
Weinstein, who prosecutors said used his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them, was found guilty of three of the seven charges against him.
After weeks of emotional testimony and 10 days of deliberations, jurors in Los Angeles also acquitted Weinstein of one count of aggravated sexual assault against a massage therapist in a hotel room in 2010. They were a hung jury on a charge of sexual assault by restraint. , one count of forced oral copulation and one count of rape related to two other women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the first partner of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The three counts of which Weinstein was convicted: rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object and forced oral copulation, were linked to one of his accusers, a model and actress who testified that the movie mogul assaulted her in a bedroom Beverly Hills Hotel in February 2013.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe 1 in court, was the first to testify at trial.
“Harvey Weinstein destroyed a part of me forever that night in 2013. I will never get it back. The criminal trial was brutal. Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand. But I knew I had to see this to the end, and I did… I hope Harvey Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell in his lifetime,” Jane Doe 1 said in a statement released through her lawyer
Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges against him.
“Harvey is obviously disappointed, but hopefully because with this particular accuser there is good ground for appeal based on the timing and location of the alleged events,” Weinstein spokeswoman Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. “He is grateful that the jury took its time to deliberate on the other charges and is prepared to continue to fight for his innocence.”
Weinstein faces a possible 24-year prison sentence for the Los Angeles conviction, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. The once powerful movie producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a 2020 rape conviction in New York.
Jurors will return to court Tuesday to consider aggravating factors to help determine the outcome of Weinstein’s sentencing hearing, according to the DA’s office.
The district attorney’s office will meet to determine whether to retry the counts on which the jury could not agree, officials said.
Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney representing Siebel Newsom, who was identified in court as Jane Doe 4, said they were disappointed the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges related to her client.
“Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs. Harvey Weinstein is a serial predator and what he did was rape,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “During the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexist, misogynistic, and intimidation tactics to intimidate, degrade, and ridicule us survivors. This trial was a stark reminder that we, as a society, have work to do. To all the survivors: I see you, I hear you, and I am with you.
Governor Newsom also released a statement, saying, “I am so proud of my wife and all the brave women who came forward to share their truth and encourage countless survivors who cannot. Their strength, courage and conviction they are a powerful example and an inspiration to us all. We must continue to fight to ensure that survivors are supported and that their voices are heard.”
The Los Angeles jury reached its verdict after deliberating for a total of 41 hours, longer than the New York jury in Weinstein’s first criminal trial, in which he was convicted of criminal sexual act and third-degree rape after of 26 hours of deliberations. His lawyers have appealed that sentence, which put more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.
Jane Doe 2, who was identified as Lauren Young, told her attorney Gloria Allred by phone that she was glad Weinstein was convicted on some charges despite a mistrial on her own, Allred said in a press conference after the verdict.
“I am relieved that Harvey Weinstein has been convicted because he deserves to be punished for the crimes he committed and he can no longer use his power to intimidate and sexually assault more women,” Young said in a statement read by Allred.
The week-long trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers — a model, a dancer, a masseuse and Siebel Newsom — all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, to provide details of the meetings with the producer years ago and explain his reactions to the alleged assaults.
Weinstein initially faced 11 charges, but four charges involving an unnamed woman were dropped without explanation. She did not testify at trial.
In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.
“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson told jurors.
Meanwhile, Weinstein’s lawyers maintained that the allegations were fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there was no evidence of assault.
Defense lawyer Alan Jackson called the accusers “seekers of fame and fortune”.
The trial in Los Angeles also included testimony from other witnesses, including experts, law enforcement, friends of the accusers and Weinstein’s former aides.
In addition, four women testified that they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.
Each morning at the trial, Weinstein was brought from a correctional facility and brought into the Los Angeles courtroom wearing a suit and tie and holding a composition notebook.
All of his accusers began their emotional testimony often by identifying him in the courtroom as he watched.
“He’s wearing a blue suit and tie and he’s staring at me,” Siebel Newsom said last month, before what was one of the most emotional moments of the trial. She testified that Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005.
During the trial, defense attorney Jackson asked jurors if they could “accept what (Jane Does) says as gospel,” arguing that what they said was a lack of forensic evidence to support her claim.
“Five words that sum up the entirety of the prosecution’s case: ‘Take my word for it,'” Jackson said. “‘Take my word that he showed up at my hotel room unannounced. Take my word that I showed up at his hotel room. Take my word that I didn’t consent. Believe -me on my word, that I said no.
Siebel Newsom described a “cat and mouse period” lasting several hours, which preceded her alleged assault. She, like other accusers, described feeling “frozen” that day.
Weinstein’s lawyers do not deny the incident, but said they believe it was consensual.
Jackson called the incident “consensual, transactional sex,” adding, “Grief is not the same as rape. And it’s important that we make that distinction in this courtroom.”
In his closing arguments, Martínez emphasized that the women who testified decided to go all out knowing they would face tough conditions in court.
“The truth is, as you sit here, we know the despicable behavior that the defendant engaged in. He thought he was so powerful that people would … excuse his behavior,” Martinez said. “That’s just Harvey being Harvey. That’s just Hollywood. And for so long that’s what everybody did. Everybody turned their heads.”