Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein found guilty

12/6/2025 6:17

A Manhattan jury found

Harvey Weinstein guilty on a sex crimes charge on Wednesday in a

retrial after a state appeals court last year overturned the

former movie mogul's 2020 conviction.



Weinstein, once one of the most powerful figures in

Hollywood, was accused by prosecutors in the case of raping an

aspiring actress and assaulting two other women. Weinstein, 73,

pleaded not guilty and has denied assaulting anyone or having

non-consensual sex.



The jury found Weinstein guilty on one of the three counts

he faced, which stemmed from his alleged assault of former

production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. The jury found

Weinstein not guilty of a charge stemming from his alleged

assault of Kaja Sokola in 2002 when she was a 16-year-old

aspiring actress.



The jury has not yet reached a verdict on the third count,

which charges him with raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in

2013. They will resume deliberations on that count on Thursday.

In closing arguments on June 3, the prosecution told the 12

jurors that the evidence showed how Weinstein used his power and

influence to trap and abuse women.



The defense countered that the accusers lied on the witness

stand out of spite after their consensual sexual encounters with

the Oscar-winning producer failed to result in Hollywood

stardom.

Jurors reached their partial verdict on the fifth day of

sometimes fractious deliberations. The retrial began on April

23. Weinstein has had a litany of health problems and attended

the retrial in a wheelchair.

A jury had in February 2020 found Weinstein guilty of raping

Mann and sexually assaulting Haley. Sokola's allegation was not

part of that case.



The conviction was a milestone for the #MeToo movement,

which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of

sexual misconduct by powerful men.



But the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest

court, threw out that conviction in April 2024. It said the

trial judge erred by letting women testify that Weinstein had

assaulted them, though their accusations were not the basis of

the criminal charges.

Though the 2020 conviction was thrown out, Weinstein has

remained behind bars because of his 2022 rape conviction in

California, which resulted in a 16-year prison sentence. He is

appealing that verdict.



More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have

accused Weinstein of misconduct.



The retrial was handled by prosecutors with the office of

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They portrayed

Weinstein as a serial predator who promised career advancement

in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into private

settings where he attacked them.



The defense rejected that characterization, saying Weinstein

engaged in "mutually beneficial" relationships with his

accusers, who ended up with auditions and other show business

opportunities.



Weinstein co-founded the Miramax studio, whose hit movies

included "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction." His own

eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, five

months after sexual misconduct accusations against him became

widely publicized.

Weinstein has experienced several health episodes while being

held at New York City's Rikers Island jail, and in September was

rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery.