Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Sexual Assault After Tensions Explode on New York Jury
Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of one count of committing a criminal sexual act but acquitted on another in his sex crimes retrial in New York City.
The majority-female jury on Wednesday found the former Hollywood producer guilty of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, but acquitted him of a second charge of sexually assaulting Kaja Sokola. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count involving Jessica Mann and was told to resume deliberations Thursday morning.
More from Variety
Amanda Seyfried Grossed Out She Invited 'Dictator' Harvey Weinstein to Past Sundance Premiere: 'It's Just the Way It Was - We All Needed Him'
Harvey Weinstein Says He Has 'Regrets' and 'Acted Immorally' Ahead of New York Retrial Verdict: 'But Never Illegal, Never Criminal'
Harvey Weinstein's New York Retrial Closes With Prosecutors Urging Jury to 'Let Him Know the Rules Apply to Him' Ahead of Deliberations
The partial verdict comes after a weeks-long trial that began in April, during which three women testified about the alleged sexual assaults committed by the former Hollywood producer. Weinstein faced two counts of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree and one count of third-degree rape.
Prior to the mixed verdict, Weinstein himself addressed the court, urging the judge to declare a mistrial as several jurors reported ongoing tensions in the deliberation room.
'This is my life that's on the line,' Weinstein told Judge Curtis Farber, adding, 'I am not getting a fair trial.'
Weinstein then told the judge, 'You are endangering me, Your Honor.'
Earlier on Wednesday, the jury foreperson in Weinstein's retrial informed the judge that tensions remained during deliberations and requested a private meeting with the judge and attorneys to discuss the situation.
In court, Farber conveyed the foreperson's account, stating that there was infighting among the jurors and that the foreperson was 'not going to change his position — whatever that position is.'
'He did indicate that at least one other juror made comments to the effect of 'I'll meet you outside one day,' and there's yelling and screaming,' the judge said.
'A crime was committed against this juror,' Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala argued, describing the situation in the deliberation room as 'menacing and harassment.'
Aidala added: 'Their verdict is all about coercion and threats.'
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, however, argued that the foreperson didn't seem frightened or apprehensive — just 'stubborn.'
'He said he'd made up his mind, he didn't want to change it, and people were pressuring him to change it,' Colangelo said. 'That's what jury deliberations involve.'
In his 2020 trial, Weinstein was found guilty of sexually abusing Haley and Mann. He was serving a 23-year sentence in New York until those convictions were overturned in April 2024. Weinstein pleaded not guilty to all charges in his retrial; both Haley and Mann testified against him again.
In their testimonies, Haley alleged that Weinstein forcibly sexually assaulted her at his apartment in 2006, while Mann accused him of raping her at a hotel in 2013.
Sokola, who did not testify in Weinstein's 2020 trial, was first identified by the prosecution during opening arguments in late April. (She was previously referred to as Complaining Witness No. 3.) In her testimony, Sokola described two alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein: one in 2002, when she was 16, and another in a Manhattan hotel in 2006 — the latter being the incident for which Weinstein was charged in the retrial.
Weinstein is still serving a separate 16-year prison sentence following his 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles.
Best of Variety
'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sam Rockwell Says ‘Sinners' Success Is ‘Encouraging' for Hollywood: ‘It's a Big Swing'
Sam Rockwell is singing the praises of 'Sinners.' The 'White Lotus' actor told Variety that 'Sinners' succeeding at the box office is a beacon of hope for Hollywood. 'It was encouraging because it was rated R, you know? The sexuality felt palpable,' Rockwell said. 'And the fact that it made a bunch of money while mixing all these genres — 'From Dusk Till Dawn,' 'Sounder,' 'Devil in a Blue Dress' — I thought that was encouraging. It's a big swing. And it made a lot of money, just like 'Wonder Woman.' That was a big swing, too. Made by a woman [Patty Jenkins]. Did very well.' More from IndieWire 'Charliebird' Wins Top Tribeca Festival Jury Prize: Full List of Winners Jacinda Ardern Documentary 'Prime Minister' Shows Us How the New Zealand Leader Is the Anti-Trump Rockwell compared 'Sinners' to Academy Award-winning films that also transcended genre. ''Birdman' is another one. On paper, you'd think, 'That movie's not going to do anything.' But it was amazing,' he said. 'Same with 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.' Everybody turned it down — Gene Hackman, James Caan. But look what happened. So yeah, I'm encouraged by certain things.' Rockwell even compared the CGI twin trick 'Sinners' pulls with Michael B. Jordan to the work he did his 2009 film 'Moon.' 'I really dug it. And the technology with the twin thing has come a long way since I did a trick like that long ago.' Coogler recently told Ebony Magazine that 'Sinners' was his break from directing franchise films. 'I wanted to get away from that,' he said of returning to his original indie roots. 'I was looking forward to working on a film that felt original and personal to me and had an appetite for delivering something to audiences that was original and unique.' Coogler previously thanked fellow filmmakers Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and Brian De Palma for helping to inspire his leap of faith with 'Sinners.' He also credited audiences for purchasing tickets to go to the feature in theaters. Coogler wrote in a letter shared with IndieWire, 'I had the gift of the opportunity of making a film inspired by my family and my ancestry, but it was always a film that we wanted to make for audiences, in theaters. We always had our minds on you, the audience, and felt a deep responsibility to entertain you, and move you in the way only cinema can. We don't get to do what we do if you don't show up. To see your response to the film has reinvigorated me and many others who believe in this art form. And together maybe we can expand the definition of what a blockbuster is, what a horror movie is, and of what an IMAX audience looks like.' Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
Associated Press
27 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Weinstein case judge declares mistrial on remaining rape charge as jury foreperson won't deliberate
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial came to a disjointed end Thursday as the jury foreperson declined to deliberate and the judge declared a mistrial on a remaining rape charge, a day after a split verdict on other charges in the landmark #MeToo-era case. The outcome positions the ex-studio boss for a third New York trial — prosecutors said they're ready to retry the rape count — even as he faces a new sentencing on his sexual assault conviction. Weinstein, 73, denies all the charges. The Oscar-winning movie producer had a blank, drained expression as court officers escorted him out Thursday in his wheelchair. His lawyer said he plans to appeal. 'What happened in that jury room was absolutely improper,' attorney Arthur Aidala said outside court. Weinstein is due back in court July 2 for discussion of retrial and sentencing dates. His first-degree criminal sex act conviction carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison, while the unresolved third-degree rape charge is punishable by up to four years — less than he already has served. He's been behind bars since his initial conviction in 2020, and he later also was sentenced to prison in a separate California case, which he's appealing. In Wednesday's partial verdict, Weinstein was convicted of one criminal sex act charge but acquitted of another. Both concerned accusations of forcing oral sex on women in 2006. Those verdicts still stand. While the jury of seven women and five men was unanimous on those decisions, it got stuck on the rape charge involving another woman, Jessica Mann. The hairstylist and actor testified at length — as she did in 2020 — that Weinstein raped her amid a years-long consensual relationship. 'I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard,' Mann said in a statement Thursday, confirming she's ready to testify yet again. Jury-room strains started leaking into public view Friday, when a juror asked to be excused because he felt another was being treated unfairly. Then Monday, the foreperson complained that other jurors were pushing people to change their minds and talking about information beyond the charges. The man raised concerns again Wednesday, telling the judge he felt afraid in the jury room because another juror was yelling at him for sticking to his opinion and suggested the foreperson would 'see me outside.' When Judge Curtis Farber asked the foreperson Thursday whether he was willing to return to deliberations, the man said said no. And with that, Farber declared a mistrial on the rape count. Two jurors disputed the foreperson's account as they left court. One, Chantan Holmes, said that no one mistreated the man and that she believed he was just tired of deliberating. 'We all felt bad. Because we really wanted to do this. We put our hearts and souls in here,' she said. Another jury member, who identified himself only by his juror number, said the deliberations were contentious, but respectful. Weinstein's 2020 conviction seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood's most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the # MeToo movement. The anti-sexual-misconduct campaign was fueled by allegations against him. But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse. Weinstein's accusers said he exploited his Tinseltown influence to dangle career help, get them alone and then trap and force them into sexual encounters. 'These hopeful young women were trying to follow their dreams in a world that he controlled,' Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday. Weinstein's defense portrayed his accusers as Hollywood wannabes and hangers-on who willingly hooked up with him to court opportunity, then later said they were victimized to collect settlement funds and #MeToo approbation. Miriam Haley, the producer and production assistant whom Weinstein was convicted — twice, now — of sexually assaulting, said outside court Wednesday that the new verdict 'gives me hope.' Accuser Kaja Sokola also called it 'a big win for everyone,' even though Weinstein was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was a 19-year-old fashion model. Her allegation was added to the case after the retrial was ordered. Holmes, the juror who spoke outside court, said the panel all felt Sokola 'wasn't credible.' The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola did so. ___ Associated Press journalists Joseph B. Frederick and Ted Shaffrey contributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
R. Kelly Seeks Trump Pardon, Attorney Says Singer Has Been ‘Punished' to Solitary Confinement and ‘Has Spiders Crawling All Over Him'
After R. Kelly filed an emergency motion seeking home confinement for fears for his safety in prison earlier this week, the singer's lawyer is claiming that he is now currently being 'punished' with solitary confinement for taking the action. Attorney Beau Brindley filed the motion on Tuesday claiming that officials solicited an inmate to murder Kelly, who has since been placed in solitary confinement. Brindley says that Kelly has been cut off from communicating with his family, and that he's sleeping in poor conditions without food. More from Variety R. Kelly's Attorneys File for Immediate Release From Custody, Alleging Officials Solicited Inmate to Murder Him 'SNL' Star Michael Che Drinks on Air After Trump Victory, Shouts Out R. Kelly: 'If White People Can Elect Their Felon, I Can Dance to Mine' Lifetime Finds Success With True, Sensitive Stories That Become Watercooler Sensations 'Where he's sleeping now, he has spiders crawling all over him,' Brindley tells Variety. 'This isn't protection — it's punishment for pursuing this. So he remains in solitary, he has not eaten for three days because he's been only offered food that's coming directly from the chow halls that's prepared by the inmates, which he was warned not to eat by one of the officials at the prison who we left anonymous for his own security.' Kelly is currently in a North Carolina facility serving a 30-year sentence for violating the Mann Act and racketeering that involved the sexual exploitation of children. In Tuesday's filing, Brindley alleged that government officials violated attorney-client privilege by intercepting his communications to convict him, and subsequently solicited an inmate to murder him in retaliation for attempting to expose their actions. Brindley says that he was able to speak with Kelly on Thursday morning and intends to file a supplement to his motion that alleges further cruel and unusual punishment in the form of solitary confinement. 'He was very emotional, he's very upset at how he's being treated and the conditions he's having to live with,' he says. 'He's begging me to find a way to help him, because this isn't right. And I'm going to do everything in my power to do it.' That includes seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump, a course of action that Kelly's legal team considered while investigating the government's alleged misconduct over the past year, but has become a priority with the threats on his life. Brindley has spoken with Trump associates as recently as yesterday, with hopes of reaching the President to get his urgent attention. 'I think it's a particular interest to President Trump because, unlike most people who come to this with an air of skepticism, [he] has a personal unique understanding of what it's like to be victimized by prosecution teams and put through that experience through corrupt and criminal hacks,' he says. 'He understands what that's like, and when he knows that it's being escalated to the point of a death threat to hide the corruption that we're trying to put out there, he's perhaps the only person that there is who is going to have the courage to pull the trigger and say I want to stop it now.' Brindley explains that there have been further consequences of filing Tuesday's emergency motion. Mikeal Glenn Stine, a terminally ill inmate who is a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, gave a sworn declaration in the motion claiming that officials offered him freedom in his final days in exchange for Kelly's murder. Stine says that he was transferred to the North Carolina facility to kill Kelly but had a change of heart at the last minute, instead informing him of what he had been instructed to do. After the filing, Brindley says that he was planning to meet with Stine next week, but that it was canceled this morning. He says that Stine's current whereabouts are unknown. Following the filing, which argued that Kelly remains in danger from other incarcerated members of the Aryan Brotherhood, Judge Martha Pacold set a June 20 hearing to determine the issue of jurisdiction in filing the motion in North Carolina instead of Chicago. Brindley is hopeful that an accelerated briefing schedule will not just address immediate concerns but forge a path to vacating the conviction. 'Ultimately, we're seeing a great deal of interest in what's going to happen next and how this is all going to turn out,' he says, 'because it's been a rollercoaster of facts and occurrences that have brought us to this place.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
