Weinstein sentenced to 23 years
Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to a near-maximum term on Wednesday.
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein pleaded for mercy and said he was “totally confused” by the sex crime case that got him sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison, capping the onetime Hollywood mogul’s downfall.
His accusers — those who testified against him and many others who have spoken out elsewhere against him — hailed the near-maximum punishment for his rape and criminal sex act convictions as long overdue.
Weinstein, 67, broke his courtroom silence to say he felt “remorse for this situation.” But he also argued that men are being accused of “things that none of us understood.”
“Thousands of men are losing due process. I’m worried about this country,” he said in a calm but creaking voice. “I’m totally confused. I think men are confused about these issues.”
Weinstein has been accused of violating scores of women. He was convicted last month of raping a once-aspiring actress in a
New York City hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on former TV and film production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006. He had faced a maximum of 29 years in prison.
The conviction marked the first criminal fallout from a raft of allegations that the movie producer used his clout to lure women, sexually assault or harass them and then silence them.
“Although this is a first conviction, this is not a first offense,” Judge James Burke said before revealing the prison sentence.
Both of the women Weinstein was convicted of assaulting told the court about the effect he had on their lives, and the empowerment they felt when testifying against him.
“Rape is not just one moment of penetration. It is forever,” said the 2013 rape accuser.
Asked later about her reaction after the sentence, she wiped her eyes, raised her arm and nodded her head.
The Associated Press typically does not name people, without their consent, who say they were sexually assaulted. It is withholding the rape accuser’s name because it is not clear whether she wishes to be identified. Haleyi broke down in tears as she told the court the 2006 attack scarred her deeply and “stripped me of my dignity as a woman.” The encounter made her rethink her career in the entertainment business and left her feeling afraid of retaliation, she said.
Weinstein lawyer Donna Rotunno bristled at his sentence, saying the judge and jury had “caved” in a #MeToo and media atmosphere where Weinstein “really never had a fair shake from day one.”
Weinstein’s lawyers had sought a five-year sentence — the shortest possible in the case — citing his age and frail health.
Now that Weinstein has been sentenced, his lawyers can move forward with a promised appeal. He also faces rape and sexual assault charges in California.
No arraignment date has yet been set.