What now for Harvey Weinstein? As convicted rapist heads for notorious Rikers Island prison and faces 29 years in jail prosecutors in LA proceed with another raft of charges against him and accusers launch civil lawsuits
- Prosecutors in LA said they are ‘definitely proceeding’ with additional charges
- Separate from the New York trial, Weinstein was charged in LA with sexually assaulting two women in 2013 on consecutive nights
- The charges were announced the night before his New York rape trial started
- Weinstein also faces the prospect of paying out millions of dollars in civil claims
- Lawyer Donna Rotunno said they would ‘absolutely appeal’ the NYC conviction
Harvey Weinstein will face a second set of charges in Los Angeles after a New York jury found him guilty of raping and sexual assaulting two women.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles confirmed they are ‘definitely proceeding’ with the additional claims after the shamed movie producer, 67, was ordered to Rikers Island until his sentencing on March 11.
Separate from the New York trial, Weinstein was charged in LA with sexually assaulting two women in 2013. He is charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting the other on consecutive nights. The charges were announced the night before his New York rape trial started.
And with The Weinstein Co. bankrupt and his empire in ruins Weinstein also faces the prospect of paying out millions of dollars to dozens of accusers in separate civil claims.
Outside court, Weinstein’s lawyer Donna Rotunno said he took the verdict ‘like a man’ and that they were ‘absolutely appealing’ the New York conviction.
‘Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man. He knows that we will continue to fight for him and knows that this is not over,’ she said.
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Weinstein has maintained his innocence and a long appeals battle is likely. He will also face a second set of charges in Los Angeles after a New York jury found him guilty of raping and sexual assaulting two women
Los Angeles prosecutors said Weinstein and his unidentified accuser attended a Hollywood film festival on February 17, 2013.
After the woman returned to her hotel room, Weinstein knocked at her door and she let him in. They spoke briefly before she alleged he attacked and raped her.
Prosecutors said the woman delayed disclosing the alleged assault because, in part, Weinstein threatened her life.
The next evening, the second accuser – model and actress Lauren Marie Young who testified in New York – said she went to Weinstein’s hotel room with an acquaintance of hers following a business meeting.
The court documents say she unwittingly followed Weinstein into the bathroom and the acquaintance shut the door behind her. Weinstein stripped naked, took a brief shower, stripped the alleged victim naked and then masturbated before releasing her.
He faces up to 28 years in California prison if convicted on the charges.
Weinstein was convicted by a New York jury of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in his apartment in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a hotel room in 2013.
He was acquitted of the two most serious counts of predatory sexual assault, which each carried a potential life sentence. He was also found not guilty of first degree rape in relation to Mann.
Weinstein, who arrived at court using a walker for much of the trial, now faces a 29-year prison sentence, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.
His conviction as a rapist on Monday brings a poignant end to the spectacular downfall of one of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry.
Judge James Burke had initially ordered Weinstein, prisoner 06581138Z, to be taken to Rikers Island immediately. Weinstein was instead diverted to Bellevue Hospital Center by ambulance on Monday after suffering chest pains.
But he will eventually arrive at the jail – where violence and neglect are so entrenched that Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed in 2017 to close it down within a decade – after his release from hospital.
Weinstein was convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 (left) and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 (right)
The disgraced Hollywood producer was handcuffed in court before being led away. He has been remanded in custody until his March 11 sentencing and will likely be held at the grim Rikers Island prison in New York City
Weinstein’s lawyers are asking that the 67-year-old be sent to the jail’s North Infirmary Command – two dank buildings that house sick inmates and those with enough notoriety to require protection from their neighbors.
New York City’s Department of Correction declined to say where he would be sent.
New York prosecutors are also hailing Weinstein’s conviction as a pivotal moment that could change the way the legal system views a type of sexual assault case historically considered difficult to prove.
Most of the women who testified against Weinstein stayed in contact with him – and sometimes had consensual sexual encounters with him – after alleged attacks. None promptly reported his crimes. There was little physical evidence to bolster their stories.
The jury convicted anyway, finding the producer guilty of raping one woman in 2013 and sexually assaulting another in 2006.
‘This is a new day,’ Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said after the verdict was announced. ‘Rape is rape whether the survivor reports within an hour, within a year or perhaps never. It´s rape despite the complicated dynamics of power and consent after an assault. It´s rape even if there is no physical evidence.’
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