Harvey Weinstein's dual prison sentences explained after 2020 conviction overturned
Harvey Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of a criminal sex act in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an actress in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was serving out two rape convictions until his 2020 rape conviction was overturned Thursday in New York, making way for a new trial.
In February, Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years in prison in Los Angeles, three months after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.
The disgraced film producer, who essentially kick started the #MeToo movement, was previously convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is currently serving a 23-year prison term.
The new sentence nearly doubled the 72-year-old's remaining prison time.
In December, a Los Angeles jury found Weinstein guilty on three counts of rape and sexual assault against a single victim, a European model and actor who testified anonymously as “Jane Doe #1”.
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Jurors acquitted Weinstein of assaulting another woman, a massage therapist.
They also failed to reach a verdict on whether he raped or assaulted two other women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an actor and film producer who is now California governor Gavin Newsom's wife.
Jane Doe #1 cried in court as she described the impact of what Weinstein had done to her in a 2013 attack.
The woman said that the way Weinstein had looked at her in the small courtroom during the trial had shown her that he was “the exact same man who raped me all those years ago”, and that he had “ripped out my soul and has no regret”.
Legal observers at the time said Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial, which came more than two years after his conviction in New York, was full of misogyny.
Even Weinstein’s defense team attacked his accusers’ credibility and their sexual behavior, labeling Siebel Newsom as “just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood”.
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Weinstein pleaded not guilty to all charges in both of his criminal trials, and has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
In his own statement in court, Weinstein admitted no guilt, and called the woman he was convicted of raping an “actress” who can “turn the tears on” and the rape a “made-up story”.
“Please don’t sentence me to life in prison. I don’t deserve it,” Weinstein said while calling the case “a setup”.
Weinstein’s second criminal trial centered on the allegations of four women who accused the producer of raping or sexually assaulting them in California.
The trial also included supporting testimony from women who said he raped or assaulted them in similar ways in Toronto, London and Puerto Rico.
Weinstein has been publicly accused of rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment by more than 90 women in incidents that happened over decades.
In 2018, dozens of women, including some of Hollywood’s most famous actresses, began speaking publicly about his behavior towards them, which galvanized the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013.
The charges came to light in 2017 following investigative reports published by The New York Times and The New Yorker.
However, his 2020 rape conviction was overturned Thursday in New York, making way for a new trial.
The state Court of Appeals found that the judge in the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the former film producer with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
The court ordered a new trial and his accusers could again be called to testify.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said they are "thrilled with the court’s decision".
"We obviously have a long road ahead of us in California," Engelmayer said in a statement to NBC News.
