Harvey Weinstein’s likelihood of spending the rest of his life in prison increased when he was given a 16-year prison term on Thursday for raping a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room.
Weinstein was given the most recent sentence by a Los Angeles court for the assault of a European actress ten years ago. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence for a sex offenses conviction in New York.
The Oscar-winning producer of “Shakespeare in Love,” who was in a wheelchair, implored the judge for “mercy” when appearing in court.
“Please don’t give me a life sentence. I’m not worthy of it. There are a lot of issues with this case “explained he.
He was nonetheless given three consecutive sentences totaling 16 years by Judge Lisa Lench for forceful rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration by a foreign object.
The actress pleaded with the judge to impose “the highest penalty allowable,” which would have been 18 years, in a sobbing statement.
She claimed, “His selfish, despicable behaviors have seriously affected my life.”
“The damage cannot be repaired by a prison sentence of sufficient length.”
Weinstein’s attorneys have declared that they will appeal the Los Angeles decision, which followed his jury conviction in December.
Explicit reports of encounters between the formerly powerful film producer and a number of young ladies looking to get into Hollywood were presented throughout the trial.
Due of his then-powerful position in the industry, prosecutors claim Weinstein used and assaulted women for years while enjoying a long period of impunity.
If the women had publicly accused Weinstein at the time, they would have run the risk of losing their chances of landing future Hollywood jobs, according to the prosecution.
In the Los Angeles case, Weinstein was ultimately found guilty of assaulting one woman but freed of charges of sexual battery against a second woman.
Charges against two other women, one of whom was named by her attorneys as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the current wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, were not resolved by the jury.
Just before the sentence was to begin on Thursday, the defense’s motion for a fresh trial or a lesser verdict was rejected.
Weinstein’s attorneys asserted that their cross-examination was constrained and that they were barred from introducing crucial information concerning the rape victim, such as Facebook messages with a purported boyfriend that the judge deemed irrelevant.
Yet, according to Lench, the evidence had been “properly excluded.”
#MeToo
Years of whispers about Weinstein’s behavior had circulated in the entertainment industry, but due to his position of influence in Hollywood, few people were ready to openly criticize him.
In 2017, shocking claims against him surfaced, sparking the #MeToo movement and enabling hundreds of women to speak out against sexual harassment at work.