Harvey Weinstein sentenced in LA court to 16 years on sexual assault charges
Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York, was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday to 16 years in prison on sexual assault charges.
Thursday's sentencing is the second for 70-year-old Weinstein on sexual assault charges since reporting by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 revealed his history of sexual abuse, harassment and secret settlements as he used his influence as a Hollywood power broker to take advantage of young women.
Weinstein was convicted in December on charges of rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object and forcible oral copulation after a model and actress testified he assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.
Weinstein was also acquitted of one charge then, and the jury could not come to a unanimous decision on three other charges, including one related to Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Four counts connected to an unnamed woman who did not testify were also dropped during the trial.
After convicting him, the jury deadlocked on aggravating factors that could have increased his sentence.
At the time, Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and helped produce movies such as "Pulp Fiction," "Clerks" and "Shakespeare in Love." The revelations led to a wave of women speaking publicly about the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and harassment in what became known as the #MeToo movement.
Like in that trial, prosecutors in the Los Angeles trial said Weinstein was a powerful figure in Hollywood who used his influence to lure women into private meetings, assault them and then silence any accusations.
Deputy District Attorneys Paul Thompson and Marlene Martinez wrote in a court filing last week that Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence for his convictions for sexually assaulting two women in New York and called his attack on Jane Doe No. 1 "part of a larger, decades-long pattern." The prosecutors asked that the sentence be run consecutively with his case in New York.
The trial featured emotional testimony from Weinstein's accusers -- a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom -- all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.
Jane Doe 1, whose testimony was tied to the charges, said that Weinstein came to her hotel room and tried to rape her.
Weinstein -- whom Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez had earlier called a "titan of the film industry" -- engaged in "despicable behavior" and made sure that the alleged victims knew he "could destroy them," the prosecutor said in her closing argument. Martinez told jurors that
Weinstein used his power to prey on and silence women. She called him a "predator," and said none of the women making accusations against Weinstein knew each other.
Weinstein had pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorneys maintained the allegations were fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a "transactional relationship" with the movie producer.
"Regret is not the same thing as rape," defense attorney Alan Jackson said. "And it's important we make that distinction in this courtroom."
