Harvey Weinstein Sentenced To 23 Years In Prison For Rape And Sexual Assault

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein, convicted of rape and sexual assault, was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday.

Manhattan judge James Burke’s sentence is close to the 29-year maximum for the two counts of which Harvey Weinstein was convicted on February 24.

Opposite, there were the victims, the six women who testified at the trial, who stood side by side in the front row, a striking image of this trial.

Jessica Mann

“The incident with Harvey Weinstein changed the course of my life,” said Mimi Haleyi, who had to stop, crying, before resuming her speech. “He destroyed part of me. ”

Mimi Haleyi

“I hope that (the sentence) will be long enough for him to realize what he has done, to me and to others, and really repent,” concluded the former production assistant, assaulted sexually by the producer in 2006.

Lawyers for the former Hollywood tycoon had asked judge James Burke for a five-year sentence, the legal minimum according to New York state texts.

“Given his age (67),” they wrote, “any sentence above the legal minimum … would amount to a life sentence.”

The lawyers had argued that, since October 2017, their client had lost his wife, who left him, his job, his company (The Weinstein Company) and still faced constant expressions of hostility.

The defense also mentioned his two young children, 6 and 9 years old. “I may never see my children again,” said Harvey Weinstein, who spoke for the first time since the trial began on Wednesday.

During his speech, he presented himself as a victim of the #MeToo movement. “I was the first example and now there are thousands of accused men.”

“I am worried about this country,” he said.

Accountable

“I am forced to carry the weight of this experience until I die,” said Jessica Mann, referring to the man who “stole (her) body” and “was ultimately held accountable.”

“Today, I’m not ashamed,” continued the former aspiring actress who was raped by Harvey Weinstein. “I was able to express myself. There are no more monsters in my closet. ”

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, who led the charge during the trial, had not asked for a specific sentence, requesting from the judge a sentence that reflects “the gravity of the crimes of the convicted person, his complete lack of remorse … ) and the need to deter him and others from committing new crimes. ”

At the hearing on Wednesday, she again paid tribute to the victims who testified at the trial. Without them, Harvey Weinstein “could never have been stopped.”

She noted the “lack of empathy” and “selfishness” of the independent producer.

Harvey Weinstein never publicly acknowledged anything other than consensual relationships with the women who accused him and, in fact, did not express any remorse or apologize.

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers have already indicated that their client will appeal the conviction, which will not prevent him from being immediately detained.

No one knows for the moment which New York State prison the co-founder of the Miramax studio will serve his sentence, but probably not at the infamous Rikers Island, where he is currently incarcerated, and intended more for the accused. awaiting trial.

For the #MeToo movement, which the Weinstein affair gave birth to, the victory is already certain. She played with the guilty verdict, although the jury exonerated her from three of the five most serious charges.

“I will not recover these years of my life, but I now have this little hope of having an existence before me, which I did not have yesterday,” said the day after the verdict to journalist Ronan Farrow, l actress Rose McGowan, who accuses Harvey Weinstein of raping her.

Weinstein is yet to answer for another charge of two sexual assaults in Los Angeles, announced in early January.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson said that the Los Angeles prosecutor has started the process of transferring Harvey Weinstein to California, where he must be formally presented with a judge. No date has yet been set.