Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years in New York sexual assault retrial

The ruling seals six years of legal battles after Weinstein’s initial conviction for sexually assaulting TV assistant.

Harvey Weinstein appears in the Manhattan Supreme Court, where he received a 15-year sentence for sexual assault on Wednesday [AFP]

Harvey Weinstein , the disgraced movie mogul, has been sentenced in Manhattan to 15 years in prison for a felony sex crime in another #MeToo reckoning.

Weinstein’s sentencing on Wednesday for sexually assaulting one-time TV production assistant Miriam Haley followed a legal odyssey spanning more than six years, when New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction. A second jury found Weinstein guilty again at a retrial last year.

Once among the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, Weinstein was an Oscar-winning producer whose hits included “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” But his downfall came quickly after sexual assault allegations in 2017 set off the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, 74, is expected to appeal and maintains that he never raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He is now likely to remain behind bars well into his 80s. Seated in a wheelchair, he was quickly moved out of the courtroom after the sentencing, while some of his accusers hugged and brushed away tears.

Haley, 49, appeared in court on Wednesday morning and delivered a victim impact statement in which she talked about enduring seven years of public smear campaigns and humiliation orchestrated by Weinstein, his legal team and allegedly paid podcasters aiming to sour her image.

Haley added that her experience following the assault had “already been a life sentence” for her, and implored the judge to take all of this into consideration.

Owing to a cycle of retrials, appeals and judicial proceedings, Weinstein has remained incarcerated since his 2018 arrest and is now serving time in a prison medical ward.

Weinstein, first publicly accused of wrongdoing in 2017, was detained a year later. In 2024, New York’s highest court overturned the original 2020 conviction that had sentenced the former Hollywood producer to 23 years in prison, ruling that the inclusion of extraneous, non-indicted testimony had compromised the equity of the trial.

Prosecutors attempted to retry the case last June, but it ended in a split verdict after the jury foreperson refused to return to deliberate amid a jury room feud. Weinstein was convicted of a first-degree criminal sex act on a separate count at the time, again.

Weinstein is also awaiting resentencing in a separate rape case in Los Angeles.

该裁决结束了韦恩斯坦最初因性侵电视助理而被定罪后长达六年的法律斗争。

哈维·韦恩斯坦周三在曼哈顿最高法院出庭，他因性侵罪被判处15年监禁。[法新社]

声名狼藉的电影大亨哈维·韦恩斯坦在曼哈顿因性犯罪重罪被判处 15 年监禁，这是 #MeToo 运动的又一次清算。

韦恩斯坦因性侵前电视制作助理米里亚姆·哈利而被判刑，此前他经历了长达六年多的法律诉讼。2020年，纽约州最高法院推翻了他的定罪。去年，在重审中，第二个陪审团再次认定韦恩斯坦有罪。

韦恩斯坦曾是娱乐界最有权势的人物之一，这位奥斯卡获奖制片人制作的影片包括《莎翁情史》、《低俗小说》和《浓情巧克力》。但2017年性侵指控引发#MeToo运动后，他的垮台很快发生。

现年74岁的韦恩斯坦预计将提起上诉，他坚称自己从未强奸或性侵任何人。他很可能将在狱中服刑至八十多岁。宣判后，他坐在轮椅上，被迅速送出法庭，一些指控者拥抱在一起，拭去眼角的泪水。

49 岁的海莉于周三上午出庭，并发表了受害者影响陈述，她在陈述中谈到了自己如何忍受了长达七年的公开抹黑运动和羞辱，这些运动和羞辱是由韦恩斯坦、他的法律团队以及据称付费的播客主播策划的，目的是败坏她的形象。

海莉补充说，袭击事件发生后，她的经历“对她来说已经如同终身监禁”，她恳求法官将这一切考虑在内。

由于经历了多次重审、上诉和司法程序，韦恩斯坦自 2018 年被捕以来一直被监禁，目前正在监狱医疗病房服刑。

韦恩斯坦于2017年首次被公开指控有不当行为，一年后被拘留。2024年，纽约州最高法院推翻了2020年对其判处23年监禁的原判，裁定纳入无关的、未被起诉的证词损害了审判的公正性。

去年六月，检方试图重审此案，但由于陪审团主席在陪审团内部发生争执后拒绝返回继续审议，最终以陪审团意见分歧而告终。当时，韦恩斯坦再次因另一项一级性犯罪指控被定罪。

韦恩斯坦在洛杉矶的另一起强奸案中也正等待重新量刑。