The announcement of the sentence of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, found guilty of rape and sexual assault at the end of his trial in Los Angeles, was postponed Monday by a judge to February 23.
The 70-year-old former “king” of cinema, producer of award-winning hits like pulp Fictionwho wants to appeal the conviction, faces up to 18 years in prison after being found guilty in December of rape and two sexual assaults on a model in 2013.
Mr. Weinstein’s defense is due to present its case to seek a new trial at the next hearing on February 23. If his appeal is denied, the sentence will be handed down the same day, Judge Lisa Lench said Monday.
Mr. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after his conviction in New York in 2020 for similar facts.
After an initial refusal of justice, the Supreme Court of New York finally authorized in August to appeal this conviction, which had been a great victory for the #MeToo movement, a global phenomenon of liberation of women’s speech on the sexist and sexual violence.
During his last trial, four women testifying anonymously accused the producer in great detail of forcing them to have sex in hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013.
After weeks of grueling hearings, often interrupted by sobbing plaintiffs, the prosecution had painted Mr. Weinstein as an all-powerful ogre, a “predator” whose stranglehold on Hollywood — the films he produced received more than 330 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes – has long prevented its victims from speaking out, for fear of repercussions on their careers.
The jurors found him guilty of all charges brought by the first of the four plaintiffs. 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.
Rumors about Mr. Weinstein’s behavior had been circulating for years in Hollywood. The scandal finally broke in 2017, thanks to press investigations compiling multiple accusations, which led to the #MeToo movement.
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.
The ex-producer is also charged in the United Kingdom for sexual assaults which date back to 1996.