Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood bigwig already serving a 23-year stint in prison in New York, was sentenced Thursday in Los Angeles to an additional 16 years in jail for charges of rape and sexual assault. He spoke in court and continued to deny his wrongdoings, calling the situation a “set–up”.
“I remain convinced of my innocence; I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. I never knew this woman, and the truth is she doesn’t know me. This is all about money,” he pleaded. “Please don’t sentence me to a lifetime in prison. I don’t deserve it.”
His defense attorneys requested a concurrent sentence with his ongoing 23-year term, mentioning his age of 70 and fragile health. Jane Doe 1, the model and actress who provided the evidence for the convictions, stated in court how the assault changed her.
“Prior to that night, I was a very jovial and confident woman. I held myself and my relationship with God in high esteem. I was excited about the future,” she recalled. “Everything was flipped after the defendant brutally assaulted me. I thought it was my fault and blamed myself for him doing that to me. I felt isolated and helpless.”
Weinstein, 70, was convicted in December of rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object, and forcible oral copulation after Jane Doe 1 attested that he had assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013. He was also acquitted of one charge and the jury was deadlocked on three others, including a charge involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Additionally, four counts concerning an unnamed woman who did not testify were discarded during the trial.
The sentencing follows the revelation by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 that exposed his history of sexual abuse, harassment, and settlements. Weinstein was one of the most influential figures in Hollywood, helping produce films such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Clerks” and “Shakespeare in Love”.
The accounts opened a wave of voices from women detailing the extent of sexual abuse and harassment in the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein has been serving a 23-year prison sentence since 2020 after he was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape, and he is currently in the process of appealing the conviction. In light of this second sentence, the prospects for Weinstein’s future seem bleak and certain.
Like at the New York trial, prosecutors at the Los Angeles trial explained that Harvey Weinstein was a powerful figure in Hollywood who took advantage of his influence to invite women to private meetings, where he assaulted them, and then would threaten and discourage them from speaking up about it.
The trial had a highly emotional impact, as each of Weinstein’s accusers, including a model, a dancer, a massage therapist, and Siebel Newsom, had to take the stand to share the intimate details of their traumatic encounters, as well as describing the events of their meetings with the producer from many years prior.
Jane Doe 1, whose testimony was central to the verdict, testified in court about her experience with Weinstein. She recounted feeling that she wanted to die during the assault, as well as feeling humiliated, miserable, and powerless to do anything other than comply.
On Monday, the opening statements in the criminal trial had stated that eight women would testify to the assault they experienced at the hands of Weinstein. The prosecution’s attorney, Paul Thompson, clarified to the jury that the women had all come forward independently, without any knowledge of each other’s experiences. All of the women testified as to the sexual assault they endured, and four other women were allowed to testify as to “prior bad acts” they had experienced at the hands of Weinstein, though their testimonies were not tied directly to a charge.
The defense attorneys of Weinstein stated that the allegations against their client had been fabricated or were the result of a consensual transactional relationship. To support this claim, Alan Jackson stated in the courtroom that “regret is not the same thing as rape,” suggesting that any such regrets should be distinguished from accusations of assault.
Ultimately, Weinstein was found guilty, though the jury could not come to a consensus about aggravating factors which could have increased the length of his sentence. Following the sentencing on Thursday, an attorney who had been representing both Siebel Newsom and Ashley Matthau, who both testified in court, praised the outcome and thanked them for using their voices to reclaim their stories and stand as a beacon of hope for other survivors of abuse.