Harvey Weinstein Trial: Guilty On 2 Counts, Not Guilty Of More Serious Charges

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    NEW YORK, NY (WCBS) — Harvey Weinstein is behind bars after jurors found him guilty on two of five counts in his rape and sexual assault trial.

The 67-year-old was convicted on one count of criminal sexual act and one count of rape in the third degree. He was cleared of the most serious charges, including two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of rape in the first degree.

Following the verdict, Judge James Burke revoked Weinstein’s bail, and the disgraced Hollywood mogul was remanded into custody. Defense attorney Arthur Aidala told CBS2’s Alice Gainer he said, “I’m innocent” as he was placed into handcuffs.

Sentencing was set for March 11. Criminal sexual act carries a maximum of 25 years, and rape in the third degree carries a maximum of four years.

In a press conference, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance listed the names of the female prosecutors and the accusers, saying the women “changed the course of history in the fight against sexual violence.”

“These are eight women who pulled our justice system into the 21st Century by declaring that rape is rape and sexual assault is sexual assault no matter what,” he added.

Weinstein was charged with raping Jessica Mann inside a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcing a sex act on Mimi Haley in 2006.

The jury of seven men and five women also heard testimony from four additional accusers – Annabella Sciorra, Tarale Wulff, Dawn Dunning and Lauren Marie Young.

Although Sciorra’s rape claim from the early 1990s was past the statute of limitations, it was part of the predatory sexual assault charges to show a pattern of behavior.

Late Friday afternoon, jurors sent a note asking if they could be deadlocked on those two counts if they were unanimous on the other three.

As Gainer reports, the split verdict suggests jurors believed Mann and Haley’s allegations but doubted Sciorra’s testimony.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Haley, Sciorra, and Young, called her clients “role models in courage.” She said Sciorra is “absolutely one of the bravest women I know.”

“She sacrificed so much – privacy – invested so much time, went through so much, just for the cause of justice,” said Allred.

Weinstein pleaded not guilty and said any sexual encounters were consensual. His defense team tried to discredit the accusers, showing that some continued to contact Weinstein or had consensual encounters with him after the alleged incidents.

“We still don’t think that the evidence supported this conviction whatsoever. We’re pretty confident that the appellate courts are going to find the same way. But you cannot discount the amount of pressure on this jury to convict him of something. It was enormous,” Aidala said outside court. “The bottom line is: The day of jury selection, he was arrested again or re-charged in LA. I mean, how do you get a fair jury when the cover of every newspaper is the defendant in the New York case being arrested somewhere else? It just rings of unfairness.”

The 67-year-old has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, sparking the #MeToo Movement. He now faces additional charges in Los Angeles, involving Young and another accuser.

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