Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction upheld by New York court
India Today
A New York appeals court upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction and 23-year prison sentence on Thursday.
A New York appeals court upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction and 23-year prison sentence Thursday, rejecting the movie mogul’s claims that the judge at his landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced him by allowing women to testify about allegations that weren’t part of the criminal case.
The ruling by a five-judge panel in the state’s intermediate appeals court affirmed one of the highest-profile verdicts to date in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.
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Weinstein’s publicist, Juda Engelmayer, said he is reviewing his options and will seek to appeal the decision to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised,” Engelmayer said.
Weinstein, 70, was convicted in New York in February 2020 of a criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in 2013.
He was acquitted of rape and predatory sexual assault stemming from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations about an encounter in the mid-1990s. The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named; Sciorra has spoken publicly about her allegations.
