Former Hollywood star producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Thursday (February 23) in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting a European actress in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein, 70, producer of award-winning hits such as Pulp Fiction:, this Thursday, February 23, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting the actress. The facts took place in a hotel in Beverly Hills (Los Angeles) in 2013. The sentence will be served on top of a 23-year sentence he was sentenced to in 2020 in New York for similar allegations against other women he appealed.
With this sentence, the former “king” of cinema risks ending his days behind bars. “Please don’t sentence me to life imprisonment. I don’t deserve it. There is so much that is not normal in this case,” he said in his wheelchair on the day of his appearance.
“Selfish and despicable acts”
The actress, who has not been identified, asked Judge Lisa Lenci for the “maximum sentence” for the former Hollywood star producer, saying his “selfish and despicable actions” had had a “significant impact” on her life. “No prison term is long enough to repair the damage,” he said. The defendant’s defense attorneys again announced that they are appealing this conviction.
During this second trial of Harvey Weinstein, which the #MeToo movement and many women’s free speech led to in the fall of 2017, four women testified anonymously against him. During several weeks of bitter and testy hearings, sometimes interrupted by sobs from the plaintiffs, they accused the former Hollywood titan of forcing them to have sex at hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013.
The prosecution portrayed Harvey Weinstein as an all-powerful ogre, a “ predator » whose allure and aura in Hollywood prevented any opportunity to speak out on behalf of his victims for fear of repercussions to their careers. His lawyers worked to cast doubt on the word of the four complainants, particularly highlighting the lack of forensic evidence to support their stories.
Damages and benefits
The trial ended in a split verdict. Jurors found Mr. Weinstein guilty of all charges brought by the Italian actress, but spared him a harsher sentence, acquitting him of charges of sexually assaulting a masseuse and failing to reach a conclusion in cases involving two other women. After the former producer’s criminal conviction, at the end of the trial, the recognized victim actress filed a complaint in the Los Angeles court in early February to receive civil damages. The complaint, seen by AFP, does not specify the amount sought, but it alleges “physical and mental suffering” caused by rape and sexual assault.
In 2021, a civil settlement was awarded $17 million to several dozen women who accused the former producer, but this woman was not one of them. Rumors about Mr. Weinstein’s behavior have been circulating in Hollywood for years. The scandal finally erupted in 2017 thanks to a press investigation that collected many of the allegations that sparked the #MeToo movement.
Since then, nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Roseanne Arquette, have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape. But the statute of limitations has been exceeded in many of these cases, some dating back to 1977. In addition to his legal setbacks in the US, the former producer is also facing assault charges in the UK. back to 1996
In the video, Léa Seydoux’s speech after receiving her “Golden Q” award from the actress in 2022.
Source: Le Figaro
