Harvey Weinstein: What’s next for the disgraced film mogul and how long could he be jailed for?
DISGRACED movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty on two charges of a criminal sex act.
But what does the verdict mean and will Weinstein go to prison? Here's everything we know.
What is third-degree rape and what does the verdict mean?
Weinstein was convicted on two of five counts of sex crimes brought against him.
He had pleaded not guilty to all five.
Weinstein was convicted of a criminal sexual act in the first-degree against production assistant Mimi Haleyi and rape in the third-degree against aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Rape in the third-degree in the state of New York is defined by a non-consensual act that is carried out without the threat of violence.
Mann said that soon after meeting Weinstein he raped her in a New York hotel room in 2013.
In court the she said he "demanded" she take off all her clothes before raping her.
She described Weinstein as a “Jekyll and Hyde” figure and added the word "no" was like a “trigger” for him.
A criminal sex act in the first-degree is defined by:
- When a person engages in oral or anal sex with someone who is physically helpless and therefore cannot legally consent
- When a person engages in oral or anal sex with a person who is younger than 11-years-old
- When a person who is over 18-years old- engages in oral or anal sex with a person who is younger than 13-years-old
- When a person engages in oral or anal sex using physical force or expresses threat of death, kidnapping or bodily injury to the victim or anyone else to make them comply
Haleyi testified Weinstein invited her to his Manhattan home in 2006 and then backed her into a bedroom and forcibly performed oral sex on her – after yanking out her tampon.
Through tears, she said: "I expressed the entire time I just said no, no, I don’t want this to happen this is not going to happen.
"I was just trying to tell him to stop."
Will Harvey Weinstein go to prison?
The charges Weinstein was convicted of carry a combined maximum sentence of 29 years and a minimum of five.
The lesser charge, rape in the third-degree carries a maximum sentence of four years and a minimum of no prison time.
However, it will require Weinstein to sign the sex offenders register.
Prosecuting, Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said: "[Victims] sacrificed their dignity and privacy and peace for the prospect of having that voice heard.”
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She added Weinstein “stands to do 25 years in jail” on the criminal sexual act and “four years max” on the third-degree rape.
Former Miramax boss Weinstein had been found not guilty of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault – which carried life sentences – following his historic trial.
Weinstein has also been charged with sex crimes by prosecutors in LA and faces a second trial and up to 28 years in jail.
How did the scandal unfold?
2017
- October 5 - The New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein - Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women to speak out.
- He was accused of promising to help women further their careers in return for sexual favours.
- The producer apologised and acknowledged that he had "caused a lot of pain" but disputed the allegations he harassed female employees.
- October 8 - Weinstein was sacked by the board of his company, with immediate effect.
- October 10 - 13 more women stepped forward and shared their story with New Yorker magazine, including three accusations of rape. Asis Argento, Lucia Stoller claimed he raped them, while Mira Sorvino said he sexually harrassed her.
- Hollywood A-listers Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne say they were harassed by Weinstein.
- Georgia Chapman, Weinstein's wife, annouced she was leaving him.
- October 12 - Police in the UK and US say they are investigating specific allegations from 2004 and 1980s but no charges were made.
- October 13- Weinstein's former office assistant Lisa Rose says he tried to invite her into another room, mentioning a massage.
- October 15 - Lysette Anthony said Weinstein raped her at her home in London in the late 1980s
- The Metropolitan Police say he is accused of assaulting three women in separate incidents in London in the late 1980s, 1992, 2010, 2011 and 2015. The producer has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.
- October 17 - Weinstein resings from the board of the company that bears his name according to multiple reports.
- October 23 - Zelda Perkins, a British former assistant of Weinstein, tells the Financial Times she was paid £125,000 to keep quiet after accusing the movie mogul of sexual harassment. She says he asked her to give him massages and tried to pull her into bed, but she "was made to feel ashamed for disclosing his behaviour".
- October 27 - Weinstein takes legal action against his former company after his lawyer alleges The Weinstein Company has denied requests for documents to defend himself from allegations.
2018
- 2 February - Bafta formally terminates Harvey Weinstein's membership
- 11 February - After a four-month investigation, New York state prosecutors announce they have filed a lawsuit against the Weinstein Company on the basis the studio failed to protect employees from his alleged harassment and abuse. His lawyer concedes Weinstein's behaviour is "not without fault" but says there was "no criminality"
- 10 May - Weinstein's estranged wife gives her first interview since he was engulfed in scandal, saying she was "never" suspicious about his behaviour. Georgina Chapman admits she had been "so naive", and was "so humiliated and so broken" when the scandal unfolded.
- 25 May - Weinstein turnedhimself in to New York police on sexual misconduct charges. He was charged with rape and several other counts of sexual abuse against two women.
- 26 May - Weinstein was released on $1m bail. He also agreed to wear a GPS tracker and to surrender his passport.
- 5 June - Weinstein formally pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges in the New York Supreme Court.
- 2 July - Weinstein faced fresh sexual assault charges in New York from a third woman, in a case dating back to 2006.
- 9 July - He pleaded not guilty in third sex assault case. The new charges included two counts of predatory sexual assault for allegedly forcing a woman into oral sex.
- 11 October - A New York judge dismissed one of the six sex assault charges after prosecutors said actress Lucia Evans had given a witness a different version of the alleged sex assault from one she had given them.
- 1 November - in New York and subjecting her to years of harassment and abuse, starting in 2002. The complaint by Jane Doe, as she is known in legal documents, is an update to a class action lawsuit against Weinstein, the Weinstein Company and Miramax.
- 2 November - Speaking to Vanity Fair, Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta claims Weinstein raped her twice in New York in 2010.
- 3 November - Police in New York say they have "an actual case" against Weinstein, citing the "credible and detailed narrative" an unidentified woman - believed to be Paz de la Huerta - has given them.
2019
- 9 January - Actress Ashley Judd's sexual harassment lawsuit is dismissed by a Los Angeles federal court, with the judge ruling the allegations did not fall within the scope of the statute she sued under. Her defamation claim - that Weinstein "blackballed" her after she refused his advances - would still be heard, the judge said.
- 24 May - Weinstein and his former studio's board members reached a tentative deal with women who accused him of sexual misconduct, according to a US media report. Lawyers said the settlement to resolve civil lawsuits and compensate alleged victims was worth about $44m (£34.7m).
- 26 August - Weinstein pleads not guilty to two additional charges of predatory sexual assault. They relate to an alleged assault that took place in Manhattan in 1993 - too long ago to be prosecuted under New York state law.
- 17 September - Weinstein's lawyer Donna Rotunno told CBS the evidence will exonerate the movie mogul of any criminal wrongdoing. "I'm not here to say he was not guilty of committing sins," she said. "But there's a difference between sins and crimes, and I don't think he's a rapist."
- 24 October - Rose McGowan filed a lawsuit against Weinstein, his ex-lawyers and a private intelligence agency, accusing them of trying to silence her.
- 11 December - Weinstein's bail was increased from $1m (£760,000) to $5m (£3.8m) after prosecutors claimed he mishandled his electronic ankle monitor dozens of times. His lawyer said it was due to technical problems.
- A tentative settlement with accusers floated in May was said by lawyers to have been agreed by most parties. It would pay out $25m (£19m) to nearly 30 actresses and ex-employees. However, a number of plaintiffs and lawyers expressed anger at the terms. The deal is still to be signed off.
- 15 December - Weinstein gives an interview to the New York Post saying he has overseen "more movies directed by women and about women than any film-maker". He added: "I pioneered it! It all got eviscerated because of what happened. My work has been forgotten."
- In response, a statement from 23 female accusers said: "Harvey Weinstein is trying to gaslight society again."