Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty Of Rape In Second Trial, Faces Life In Prison

A Los Angeles jury found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in his second trial on Monday. The verdict, reached after a month-long trial and nine days of deliberation, further condemns the disgraced Hollywood mogul to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Weinstein, 70, who is two years into a 23-year sentence for a 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, will now receive a longer sentence to be determined early next year. He faces a possible sentence of 24 years in prison, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.

IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED THIS YEAR!

The recent charges, one count of rape, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object and one count of forcible oral copulation, were tied to Jane Doe 1, one of four accusers whose allegations ignited the #MeToo movement several years ago.

Jane Doe 1, an Italian model and actress, testified that Weinstein assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013.

“Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013. I will never get that back” she said in a statement released through her attorney following the verdict. “The criminal trial was brutal. Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand. But I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did.”

She continued, “I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime.”

The L.A. jury acquitted Weinstein of one count of sexual battery and was hung up on other sexual misconduct charges, including one count of rape against Jennifer Siebel Newsom, filmmaker and wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Siebel Newsom, originally identified as Jane Doe 4, gave emotional testimony during Monday’s proceeding. She alleged that Weinstein raped her in 2005 during what was supposed to be a business meeting. During the opening statements, defense attorney Mark Werksman said Siebel Newsom would be “just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood” if she wasn’t married to the high-profile governor.

“Throughout the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers used sexism, misogyny and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean and ridicule us survivors,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “This trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do. To all survivors out there – I see you, I hear you and I stand with you.”

Forty other witnesses were called to the stand to corroborate the four women’s allegations, as the case has relied heavily on testimony because of a lack of forensic evidence.

The years-long case is ongoing as a New York court has agreed to hear Weinstein’s appeal on his previous convictions.