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Harvey Weinstein Verdict Is Reached: Live Updates Live Updates: Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Rape
(32 minutes later)
The jury on Monday in the rape trial of Harvey Weinstein sent a note to Justice James A. Burke saying it has reached a verdict. Harvey Weinstein, the powerhouse film producer whose downfall over sexual misconduct ignited a global movement, was found guilty on Monday of a felony sex crime and rape after a trial in which six women testified that he had sexually assaulted them.
The verdict remains unknown for now, and the jurors are beginning to assemble in the courtroom at State Supreme Court in Manhattan, where Mr. Weinstein has been on trial for over a month, to deliver their decision. But the jury acquitted Mr. Weinstein of the two top charges against him, predatory sexual assault.
Mr. Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood producer whose film company made movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” pleaded not guilty to charges of two counts of rape, one count of criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault. The verdict offered a measure of justice to the dozens of women who had come forward with similar allegations against Mr. Weinstein. For many, the trial was a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement and a crucial test in the effort to hold powerful men accountable for sexual harassment in the workplace.
Mr. Weinstein sat between his lawyers looking straight ahead when it was announced that the jury had reached a verdict. Four court officers stood behind him, and Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, sat nearby in the front row of the courtroom.
The jury found Mr. Weinstein guilty of two counts, a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. Mr. Weinstein appeared unmoved as the verdict was read.
He was found not guilty on the two counts of predatory sexual assault, which suggests that one or some jurors did not believe the testimony of Annabella Sciorra, an actress best known for her work in “The Sopranos.”
After the verdict was read, Justice James M. Burke thanked the jurors for their “care and concentration” before they left the courtroom. As they filed out, Juror No. 6 stared at Mr. Weinstein.
Complaints about Mr. Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer of films including “Shakespeare in Love,” had opened the floodgates in late 2017, as hundreds of thousands of women aired their own stories of harassment. Mr. Weinstein quickly became a symbol not just of the casting couch culture in Hollywood, but of the abuse women had endured for hundreds of years.
Six women testified at trial that he had sexually assaulted them, though Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces criminal charges in connection with only two of them. The others were allowed to testify to establish a pattern of behavior.Six women testified at trial that he had sexually assaulted them, though Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces criminal charges in connection with only two of them. The others were allowed to testify to establish a pattern of behavior.
The indictment rests on the accusations of Miriam Haley, a former television production assistant who testified that Mr. Weinstein forced oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment in 2006; and Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, who says he raped her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room in 2013. The indictment rested on the accusations of Miriam Haley, a former television production assistant who testified that Mr. Weinstein forced oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment in 2006; and Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, who says he raped her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
Ms. Mann and Ms. Haley both acknowledged that they continued to see Mr. Weinstein after the alleged assaults and later had consensual sex with him, testimony that complicated the prosecution’s case.Ms. Mann and Ms. Haley both acknowledged that they continued to see Mr. Weinstein after the alleged assaults and later had consensual sex with him, testimony that complicated the prosecution’s case.
Prosecutors described Mr. Weinstein as a clever predator who kept his victims close to control them, using his power over their careers in the film industry as leverage.Prosecutors described Mr. Weinstein as a clever predator who kept his victims close to control them, using his power over their careers in the film industry as leverage.
But defense lawyers said the women had sex with Mr. Weinstein willingly to further their careers and only years later, after he had been accused in news reports of sexual harassment, began to remember their encounters with him as nonconsensual.But defense lawyers said the women had sex with Mr. Weinstein willingly to further their careers and only years later, after he had been accused in news reports of sexual harassment, began to remember their encounters with him as nonconsensual.
Before the trial began, Justice Burke allowed the prosecution to call four women as witnesses to corroborate the five charges stemming from Ms. Mann’s and Ms. Haley’s claims against Mr. Weinstein.Before the trial began, Justice Burke allowed the prosecution to call four women as witnesses to corroborate the five charges stemming from Ms. Mann’s and Ms. Haley’s claims against Mr. Weinstein.
One of those witnesses was Annabella Sciorra, an actress known for her role on “The Sopranos.” Ms. Sciorra, who says she was raped by Mr. Weinstein nearly 30 years ago in her Manhattan apartment, was called to support the charges of predatory sexual assault, which require proving that a defendant attacked at least two victims. One of those witnesses was Ms. Sciorra, who says she was raped by Mr. Weinstein nearly 30 years ago in her Manhattan apartment. She was called to support the charges of predatory sexual assault, which require proving that a defendant attacked at least two victims. The jury ultimately did not convict Mr. Weinstein on those counts.
The three other women were permitted to testify to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein engaged over time in a pattern of sexually abusive behavior.The three other women were permitted to testify to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein engaged over time in a pattern of sexually abusive behavior.
None of the four women’s accounts could be formally charged as crimes on their own because the alleged attacks were too old to prosecute under New York’s statute of limitations.None of the four women’s accounts could be formally charged as crimes on their own because the alleged attacks were too old to prosecute under New York’s statute of limitations.
Accusations of sexual misconduct and assault against Mr. Weinstein have swirled for decades in New York and Los Angeles. The trial in Manhattan was only the latest step in a lengthy saga.Accusations of sexual misconduct and assault against Mr. Weinstein have swirled for decades in New York and Los Angeles. The trial in Manhattan was only the latest step in a lengthy saga.
Mr. Weinstein had avoided prosecution in connection with an alleged groping incident in 2015, and was indicted in New York in 2018 only after scores of women came forward to accuse him in the media.Mr. Weinstein had avoided prosecution in connection with an alleged groping incident in 2015, and was indicted in New York in 2018 only after scores of women came forward to accuse him in the media.
Here is a timeline of events, from March 2015 to February 2020, of Mr. Weinstein’s journey toward a verdict.Here is a timeline of events, from March 2015 to February 2020, of Mr. Weinstein’s journey toward a verdict.
Regardless of the verdict in New York, Mr. Weinstein still faces charges in a separate case in Los Angeles. In a highly unusual move, California prosecutors announced their indictment on the first day of Mr. Weinstein’s trial in Manhattan.
The Los Angeles case is based on the accounts of two unidentified women, who have accused him of attacking them — just a day apart — in February 2013.
One of the women, an Italian model and actress, has told prosecutors that Mr. Weinstein raped her in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills hotel after she met him at a film festival.
The next day, the other woman has said, Mr. Weinstein invited her and another woman to his room in a West Los Angeles hotel after meeting them in the restaurant downstairs. There, prosecutors said, Mr. Weinstein trapped his victim in a bathroom, grabbed her breasts and masturbated.
One actress accused Mr. Weinstein of raping her in the early 1990s. A second woman said he forced oral sex on her in 2006. A third accused him of raping her in 2013.
In all, six women testified against Mr. Weinstein at his trial:
Annabella Sciorra testified that after a dinner party in the winter of either 1993 or 1994, Mr. Weinstein barged in to her Manhattan apartment and raped her. The alleged attack was too old to be prosecuted separately as rape under New York law.
Miriam Haley told jurors that in 2006 the producer forced oral sex on her at his apartment in Lower Manhattan, despite her protests. Mr. Weinstein was charged with one count of criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault involving Ms. Haley, who previously went by the name Mimi Haleyi.
Jessica Mann testified that Mr. Weinstein injected his genitals with an erection medication and raped her in a hotel room in Midtown Manhattan. He was charged with first- and third-degree rape, and predatory sexual assault involving her allegations.
Dawn Dunning accused Mr. Weinstein of touching her genitals in a hotel room in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood.
Tarale Wulff testified that Mr. Weinstein pulled her into a secluded stairwell in a lounge in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood and masturbated.
Lauren Young told jurors that the producer pulled down her dress, groped her breasts, masturbated and ejaculated onto the floor in a hotel room in Los Angeles.
Ms. Young’s account, like those of Ms. Dunning’s and Ms. Wulff’s, were allowed in an effort to show the producer’s history of abuse, prosecutors said.
Reporting was contributed by Jan Ransom, Alan Feuer, Liam Stack, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.Reporting was contributed by Jan Ransom, Alan Feuer, Liam Stack, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.