Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Rape

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape, which effectively puts him in jail for the rest of his life as he is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York for rape and sexual assault. Per Variety, the latest sentencing is for three counts of rape and sexual assault, of which Weinstein was convicted by a Los Angeles jury in December.

These charges were based on counts relating to a European model known only as Jane Doe #1. She testified that she was raped by Weinstein at a hotel following the 2013 L.A. Italia Film Festival. Weinstein originally faced 11 charges, but four related to a different woman known as Jane Doe #5 were dismissed during the trial, and the jury only found him guilty of three out of the remaining seven charges.

During the L.A. trial, which ran from October to December last year, prosecutors argued that Weinstein—formerly a powerful movie mogul—used his position to lure women to hotel rooms, claiming to be inviting them to meetings or auditions and then assaulting them. The defense claimed these women consensually agreed to “transactional sex” in exchange for roles.

Weinstein’s lawyers, Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, claim the trial and conviction were unfair because the court did not allow the defense to submit certain evidence to argue its case. The team filed a motion in January for a new trial and jury, which the judge shot down ahead of Weinstein’s sentencing on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the New York Court of Appeals has agreed to hear Weinstein’s appeal and potentially overturn his 2020 sex crimes conviction, which is the reason for his current 23-year sentence.

Weinstein, who turns 71 in March, has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment. In 2017, The New York Times reported on allegations spanning decades, which prompted Tarana Burke’s ‘Me Too’ movement to go viral as waves of survivors came forward about Weinstein and other powerful men in Hollywood, as well as other industries.

(featured image: Etienne Laurent-Pool/Getty Images)