Disgraced Hollywood movie producer, ex-almighty Harvey Weinstein, whose sex crimes sparked the #MeToo movement in 2017, had his appeal dismissed on Thursday after his 2020 conviction in New York for sexual assault and rape.
In a unanimous decision, five New York Court of Appeals judges upheld the guilty verdict in February 2020 and the conviction in March of the same year to 23 years in prison for a sexual assault in 2006 and a rape in 2013.
The appeal was announced in February 2020 but only formed in April 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The defense argued that the jury at the time in Manhattan court had been influenced by the hearing at trial of women who were not part of the prosecution case.
The judges rejected these elements, considering that these witnesses had brought to justice “useful information“allowing jurors to”fully understand the dynamics” which operated between Harvey Weinstein and his victims.
In a statement, current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — the successor to Magistrate Cyrus Vance who prosecuted Harvey Weinstein — said he was “satisfied with today’s decision upholding a landmark conviction that has changed the way prosecutors and courts address the complexity of prosecuting sexual predators”.
The revelations and the fall of the producer, from October 2017, had sparked the global #MeToo movement to raise awareness and fight women against sexual assault and crimes.
The 70-year-old man is currently incarcerated in a California prison where he awaits a new trial for alleged sexual assaults against five women. He will plead not guilty and has always claimed that his victims were consenting.
In total, some 90 women — including superstars Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek — have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment or sexual assault.
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