justice rejects appeal of ex-producer after conviction for sexual assault and rape

Appeal dismissed for disgraced Hollywood movie producer. In a unanimous decision, five judges of the New York Court of Appeals rejected, Thursday, June 2, the appeal ofHarvey Weinstein, sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison for a sexual assault in 2006 and a rape in 2013.

The appeal was announced in February 2020, but only formed in April 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The defense argued that the jury at the time in Manhattan court had been influenced by the hearing at trial of women who were not part of the prosecution case. The judges rejected these elements, considering that these witnesses had brought to justice “useful information” allowing jurors to “fully understand the dynamics” that took place between Harvey Weinstein and his victims.

Current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, successor to Magistrate Cyrus Vance who prosecuted Harvey Weinstein, said to himself “pleased with today’s decision upholding a landmark conviction that has changed the way prosecutors and courts approach the complexity of prosecuting sexual predators”.

The 70-year-old man is currently incarcerated in a California prison where he awaits a new trial for alleged sexual assaults against five women. He will plead not guilty and has always claimed that his victims were consenting. In total, some 90 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment or sexual assault.