Harvey Weinstein convicted of sexual assault in 2nd New York trial

12/6/2025 6:18

Former Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and acquitted on another in his sex-crimes retrial in New York on Wednesday.

"The mixed verdict comes after two trials and dozens of allegations against the former Hollywood producer," reported The Wall Street Journal.

Weinstein was tried and convicted on similar sex crimes in 2020. But New York's highest court overturned that conviction last year. The court's majority found that the trial judge wrongly allowed testimony from women who weren't involved in the case.

Wednesday's "split verdict meted out a measure of vindication to his accusers and prosecutors, but also to Weinstein, after the landmark case was thrown into limbo," reported The Associated Press about the development.

The disgraced film producer's initial conviction five years ago seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood's most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement, noted the report. But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse.

This time, a majority-female jury convicted the former studio boss of forcibly subjecting one to a criminal sex act in 2006. But jurors acquitted Weinstein of another criminal sex act charge from 2006.

Jurors were to continue deliberating on a charge that he raped another woman in 2013. Under New York law, the third-degree rape charge carries a lesser penalty than the first-degree criminal sex act offense.

Weinstein won an Oscar in 1999 for producing the romantic period comedy-drama film "Shakespeare in Love." He has been involved in dozens of allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct since investigative reports about his alleged sexual abuse were published on several mainstream media outlets in 2017.