NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a TV production assistant in 2006, capping a years-long legal odyssey that a judge said cemented the disgraced movie mogul’s reputation as “the literal face of the #MeToo movement.”
The landmark New York prosecution began nearly a decade ago with multiple accusers, but after retrials, mistrials, acquittals and appeals, it was whittled to a single victim: Miriam Haley, who said the Oscar-winning producer forcibly performed oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment.
She had worked briefly on the Weinstein-produced reality series “Project Runway.”
Weinstein, 74, pleaded for mercy, citing his age and health issues, including cancer and congestive heart failure.
He apologised “to anyone I have affected with my actions” and said he felt remorse for Haley. However, he added, “I have to reiterate my innocence.” His lawyers said he will appeal.
Once a towering figure in Hollywood, with such hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat,” Weinstein’s downfall came quickly after sexual assault allegations in 2017 set off the #MeToo movement. Several of his dozens of accusers were in court on Wednesday.
Judge Curtis Farber said Weinstein wielded his power as a Hollywood kingmaker to prey on women looking to break into the industry, treating them as “mere objects to be played with and discarded with impunity.”
Farber said Weinstein’s refusal to accept responsibility, portraying himself as a victim during jailhouse interviews, weighed heavily on his sentencing decision. Weinstein had faced up to 25 years in prison.
Haley credited the swell of other accusers, some of whom she hugged afterward, for giving her the courage to come forward.
For years, she said, “it was like a dark and painful secret that ate away at my spirit, my enthusiasm and sense of self-worth, that it took a long time to regain.”
Jailed since his original conviction, Weinstein has already served more than six years behind bars, leaving him with about nine years on his sentence. But a pending resentencing in Los Angeles, where he was originally ordered to serve 16 years in prison for a 2013 rape, could put him away for the rest of his life.
Farber said it’ll be his counterpart in California who decides whether Weinstein can serve his sentences at the same time. If it were up to him, Farber said, he’d run them consecutively, stacking Weinstein’s New York punishment on top of his Los Angeles sentence.
Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair, was quickly moved out of the courtroom after the sentencing. In the gallery, Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress whose rape allegations ended in an overturned conviction and two hung juries, wept profusely as prosecutors, Haley and other accusers consoled her.
Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.
