Harvey Weinstein convicted of LA-area rape, acquitted of another

By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of sexually assaulting a woman in the Los Angeles area in 2013, but jurors acquitted him of charges relating to a second alleged victim and was unable to reach verdicts on charges relating to two other women.

Weinstein, 70, was convicted of three of the seven counts he was facing — forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object. All three of those counts related to a victim referred to only as Jane Doe #1, with the crimes occurring on or about Feb. 18, 2013.

The eight-man, four-woman jury acquitted him of a felony charge of sexual battery by restraint involving an alleged attack on another woman — Jane Doe #3 — in 2010. Meanwhile, the panel was unable to reach verdicts on charges of sexual battery by restraint involving an alleged attack in February 2013 against Jane Doe #2 and counts of forcible oral copulation and forcible rape involving an alleged attack against Jane Doe #4 in 2005.

Jane Doe #4 was publicly identified by her attorney as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A mistrial was declared on the counts on which the jury could not reach a verdict.

Attorneys are due back in court Tuesday morning to deliver arguments on aggravating factors in the case.

Jurors deliberated for roughly 41 hours over 10 sessions, twice hearing read-backs of testimony from the trial — most recently on Monday morning. The jury was originally handed the case on Dec. 2, and it submitted at least one question to the judge during its deliberations, although the contents of the query were not revealed.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that the Oscar-winning Weinstein used his position as one of Hollywood’s most successful movie producers to gain access to and sexually assault women. Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson told jurors at the start of the case that Weinstein and his brother, Bob, created Miramax Films, which produced a number of “iconic and award-winning films” including “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient,” “Good Will Hunting” and “Shakespeare In Love,” among others. The movies launched the careers of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow and Quentin Tarantino, Thompson said.

Weinstein won an Oscar as a producer of best-picture winner “Shakespeare in Love.”

The producer did not testify in his own defense.

Weinstein, 70, was previously convicted in New York of raping an aspiring actress and of a criminal sex act against a former production assistant. That state’s highest court has since agreed to hear his appeal involving that case.

More from Top Posts