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Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault in his Los Angeles trial, per Variety. The disgraced producer, 70, was convicted of two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault by the jury on December 19, 2022. The new sentence is added to the 23-year sentence that he’s currently serving in New York, after being convicted in 2020.
Weinstein was charged with rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration charges for assaulting an Italian model, who has been referred to as Jane Doe #1 through the trial, at the Mr. C Hotel in February 2013. He was acquitted of sexual battery of a massage therapist, referred to as Jane Doe #3. Jurors were split on sexual battery by restraint, forcible oral copulation, and rape charges based on allegations from Lauren Young and by Jennifer Siebel Newsom (California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife).
Weinstein’s sentencing comes nearly three years after he was first found guilty of sexually assaulting two women in his trial in New York City in February 2020. He was found guilty on two of the five charges brought against him, those being sexual assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the charges.
After his New York conviction, the convicted rapist was held at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, NY. He was extradited to Los Angeles’ Twin Towers Correctional Facility in July 2021 to await his second trial in Los Angeles. During his time in prison, Weinstein’s reps have said that he was facing health issues behind bars. It was reported that he may have had COVID-19 in November 2020, as he battled a fever. His representatives later said that he did not have the virus in a statement to The Los Angeles Times. “We can report that Mr. Weinstein’s fever has dropped but is still being closely monitored,” Juda Engelmayer, his spokesperson, and Craig Rothfeld, his department of corrections representative, told the outlet. “Mr. Weinstein continues to be very closely monitored due to a plethora of underlying health issues, which are continuing to decline, get worse, and need treatment.”
The sexual assault accusations against Weinstein were a major part in drawing attention to the #MeToo Movement, when investigative pieces from both The New York Times and The New Yorker detailed many allegations of sexual assault against him. The stories shared from both outlets inspired many women both in the entertainment business and other industries to come forward and speak about their own experiences with sexual misconduct. After he was convicted, a number of people and stars applauded the court for finding him guilty and sentencing him to prison.
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