Harvey Weinstein judge declares mistrial on rape charge, third sex crimes trial planned

RNZ News

a day ago

By
Jack Queen
and
Jonathan Stempel
, Reuters
Haevey Weinstein as jury selection began in April
Photo:
AFP / Getty Images / Pool
The judge overseeing Harvey Weinstein's criminal case in Manhattan declared a mistrial on a rape charge on Thursday, one day after the former Hollywood movie mogul was
convicted on a felony sex abuse charge
.
Justice Curtis Farber ended the trial after the jury foreperson refused to continue deliberations, following multiple days of reported dissension among jurors that at times was aired in the courtroom.
Prosecutors plan to try Weinstein a third time on the charge of third-degree rape, over his alleged mistreatment of the aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. Farber said the case will proceed to trial, and set a hearing for 2 July.
The jury on Wednesday convicted Weinstein on a separate charge of first-degree criminal sexual act, over his alleged assault of former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.
Jurors acquitted him of the same charge over his alleged assault of aspiring actress Kaja Sokola in 2002.
Weinstein, 73, had pleaded not guilty to all three criminal counts, and has denied assaulting anyone or having non-consensual sex.
He plans to appeal his conviction, which carries a maximum prison term of 25 years.
His lawyer Arthur Aidala told reporters outside the courthouse that "we have very powerful evidence of gross jury misconduct at this trial," including that they improperly considered outside evidence concerning Weinstein's conduct.
Weinstein is separately appealing
a 2022 rape conviction in California
, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
He has had many health problems, and attended the Manhattan trial in a wheelchair.
Because of the California conviction, Weinstein has been in custody in the months leading up to the Manhattan trial, both at the notorious Rikers Island jail and in a Manhattan hospital. The trial began on 23 April.
Weinstein co-founded the Miramax studio, whose hit movies included such Academy Award winners as
Shakespeare in Love
and
Pulp Fiction
.
Weinstein's downfall began in 2017 and helped spark the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men.
A different jury in the Manhattan court had found Weinstein guilty in 2020 of raping Mann and sexually assaulting Haley, but New York state's highest court
overturned that conviction last year
.
More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of misconduct.
Thursday's mistrial came one day after the jury foreperson told Farber that other jurors were shouting at and threatening him for refusing to change his vote on the rape count.
The foreperson did not indicate publicly how he planned to vote, and Farber sent jurors home to cool off.
The prosecution told the 12 jurors in closing arguments on 3 June that the evidence showed how Weinstein used his power and influence to trap and abuse women.
The defence countered that the accusers lied on the witness stand out of spite after their consensual sexual encounters with the Oscar-winning producer failed to result in Hollywood stardom.
Weinstein's eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, five months after sexual misconduct accusations against him became widely publicized.
- Reuters