Harvey Weinstein was again found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting women in Los Angeles.
After being sentenced to twenty-three years in prison by the New York court, the former producer risks being sentenced to an additional twenty-four years.
A look back at the various cases that target the fallen former Hollywood producer, an all-powerful Harvey Weinstein who did not resist the #MeToo movements and the freedom of speech of his multiple victims.
Harvey Weinstein will probably end his life in prison.
The former Hollywood production juggernaut enjoyed impunity befitting its influence for decades, but the release of speech from its multiple victims in 2017 brought that era to an end.
Now, Harvey Weinstein is facing accusations, complaints, chilling testimonies from women he sexually assaulted, harassed and even raped.
Already sentenced by the New York court, charged in the United Kingdom, the former American producer was found guilty, this Monday in Los Angeles, of rape and two sexual assaults at the end of his trial.
He faces up to twenty-four additional years behind bars.
A look back at the court cases of the deposed Hollywood emperor.
What verdict was pronounced this Monday in Los Angeles?
Harvey Weinstein is once again found guilty of rape and two sexual assaults.
After two weeks of deliberation, the jurors found the all-powerful former producer guilty of all the charges brought by the first of the four accusers.
However, they found him not guilty regarding those of a second woman, and did not issue a verdict regarding the allegations made by the other two.
This is only half of the counts for which he was prosecuted.
During this new trial, these four women accused Harvey Weinstein in great detail of forcing them to have sex in hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013. A fifth finally refused to testify.
After weeks of harrowing hearings, often interrupted by sobbing plaintiffs, the prosecution had portrayed Harvey Weinstein as an all-powerful ogre, a "predator" whose stranglehold on Hollywood - the films he produced have received more of 330 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes - has long prevented its victims from speaking out, for fear of repercussions on their careers.
In a gray suit, the former movie giant buried his head in his hands as the convictions were handed down.
Los Angeles prosecutor George Gascon regretted the half-hearted decision of the jurors.
“I am of course disappointed that the jury was divided on some of the counts, but I hope that its partial verdict brings at least some justice to the victims,” he reacted in a press release.
What was Harvey Weinstein's line of defense?
The former producer has never acknowledged the facts and continues to proclaim his innocence despite the multiple testimonies.
Combative, his defense systematically questioned the word of the four accusers during the trial and insisted on the lack of material evidence and forensic elements.
She had particularly incriminated Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who revealed her identity during the trial.
According to the defense, she had a relationship in exchange for favors in Hollywood, which she later regretted and turned into accusations, surfing the avalanche of revelations aimed at Harvey Weinstein at the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017. who instilled doubt in the jurors: Jennifer Siebel-Newsom is one of the two women for whom they have not pronounced a verdict.
How many women accuse Harvey Weinstein of violence?
In total, nearly 90 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rosanna Arquette, have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape.
But the statute of limitations has been exceeded in many of these cases, some dating back to 1977.
How did the victims react on Monday?
“Harvey Weinstein destroyed a part of me forever” reacted in a press release the first victim, to which the jurors gave complete reason.
Anonymous like the other four plaintiffs, she hoped that he “never sees the outside of a prison cell in his life.
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In a press release, Jennifer Siebel-Newsom focused on the partial conviction pronounced on Monday.
"Harvey Weinstein will never rape another woman again," she said.
He will spend the rest of his life where he deserves, behind bars.
The actress, however, pointed to the "sexism, misogyny and harassment tactics" employed by defense attorneys to "ridicule us survivors."
"This trial has been a powerful reminder of the work we still have to do as a society," she said.
What happens after the convictions of Harvey Weinstein?
After the verdict in Los Angeles, a judge has yet to decide on the sentence.
For the three counts of which he was found guilty, the septuagenarian faces a sentence of up to 18 years in prison.
A maximum which could be increased to 24 years, depending on certain aggravating circumstances on which the jury must still decide.
The 70-year-old former king of cinema, who produced award-winning hits like
Pulp Fiction
or
The Artist
, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after his 2020 New York conviction for similar offences.
After an initial court denial, the New York Supreme Court finally allowed him in August to appeal his 2020 conviction, an initial decision that marked a major victory for the #MeToo movement.
Our file on the Harvey Weinstein case
Harvey Weinstein stipulated that the Manhattan court had made errors distorting the procedure and had not respected the rights of the defense.
However, in the letter that the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of New York, Janet DiFiore, sent to the lawyers on August 19, there are no details explaining this reversal.
The authorization to appeal makes it possible either to confirm the sentence or to hold a new trial… which is what the defendant's team of lawyers hopes.
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