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Harvey Weinstein on Monday (Dec. 19) was discovered responsible of rape in a Los Angeles trial. The conviction additional cements his plunge from probably the most influential producers in Hollywood to the face of the #MeToo motion.
However the jury acquitted Weinstein of sexual battery by restraint towards one in all his Jane Doe accusers.
Jurors additionally couldn’t attain a call on three sexual assault expenses, together with rape.
This trial centered on testimony from 4 ladies, all referred to as Jane Does in courtroom, who accused Weinstein of raping or sexually assaulting them from 2004 to 2013. 4 others additionally testified that they have been assaulted, although their claims didn’t result in expenses. In whole, prosecutors referred to as 44 witnesses to the stand to make their case towards the previous film mogul.
Weinstein confronted two counts of rape and 5 counts of sexual assault. He pleaded not responsible to all expenses towards him. Weinstein is at present serving a 23-year sentence following his conviction by a New York jury in Feb. 2020 of committing a legal sexual act within the first diploma and third-degree rape. He appealed the sentence, but it surely was affirmed by an appeals courtroom in June.
Jurors began deliberating on Dec. 2. It reached a verdict on the tenth day of deliberations, after roughly 41 hours contemplating the case.
Weinstein sat at finish of the protection desk together with his attorneys Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson after the jury walked into the ninth ground courtroom of the Clara Shortridge Foltz courthouse in downtown Los Angeles to announce that it had reached a verdict.
The decision comes on the heels of a number of different selections in instances with #MeToo implications. Throughout the corridor of the downtown Los Angeles courtroom wherein Weinstein’s trial unfolded, a choose declared a mistrial on Nov. 30 in actor Danny Masterson’s rape case after the jury stated it was “hopelessly deadlocked.” In New York, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis was ordered to pay $10 million to a girl who accused him of rape, whereas actor Kevin Spacey beat a sexual misconduct swimsuit introduced by Anthony Rapp, who alleged sexual abuse when he was 14.
Weinstein, who reigned as one in all Hollywood’s most influential producers, didn’t testify. The protection primarily centered on poking holes within the testimony of the eight accusers — 4 Jane Does and 4 named witnesses whose accusations didn’t result in expenses.
Werksman stated Jane Does No. 1 and a pair of lied about their accusations, whereas Jane Does No. 3 and 4 had “transactional intercourse” with Weinstein to advance their careers.
“Take my phrase for it — 5 phrases that sum up everything of the prosecution’s case,” stated Alan Jackson, additionally representing Weinstein, in closing arguments on Dec. 1.
Jane Doe No. 1 — a mannequin and actress — testified that she was raped in a resort room in February 2013. After demanding to be let in, she alleges that Weinstein began to masturbate earlier than forcing her to carry out oral intercourse and raping her. She reported the incident to regulation enforcement in 2017.
The Hollywood Reporter doesn’t sometimes identify individuals who say they have been sexually assaulted except they voluntarily come ahead. A number of of the ladies who testified towards Weinstein have disclosed that they have been assaulted.
Amongst them is Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who was a comparatively unknown actress when she met Weinstein on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition in 2005 earlier than marrying Gov. Gavin Newsom. She testified that she was raped in a gathering Weinstein set as much as focus on her profession, bursting into tears when requested to determine the disgraced film mogul. “He’s sporting a swimsuit and a blue tie, and he’s observing me,” she stated from the witness stand.
Prosecutors detailed a “recorded sample” among the many assaults of Weinstein luring his accusers into an remoted resort room beneath the guise {of professional} conferences.
Throughout opening statements, Werksman stated Siebel Newsom could be “simply one other bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get forward in Hollywood” if she wasn’t married to the governor.
The accusations towards Weinstein date to a time when he was on the apex of his powers in Hollywood. Over 40 years within the business, he performed a component in launching the careers of numerous A-listers and award winners.
Extra to come back.
This text initially appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
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