New York (AFP) – New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on sex crime charges, a stunning about-face in the case that launched the #MeToo movement.
Here are the key moments in the case:
– 2017: Scandal erupts – The New York Times publishes a bombshell investigative report featuring numerous on-the-record sexual harassment and assault accusations against Weinstein over a period of nearly three decades. Actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan are the highest-profile accusers. The Times reveals that Weinstein reached non-disclosure agreements in exchange for money with at least eight women, to guarantee their silence. Weinstein apologizes for causing “pain” but flatly denies the allegations, days before the board of The Weinstein Company ousts him. Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento tells The New Yorker that Weinstein raped her in 1997. Two other women also accuse him of sexual assault. Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and Rosanna Arquette join the list of women accusing Weinstein of harassment, as Weinstein continues to deny all claims. Other Hollywood celebrities and men from other industries come under the spotlight as the nascent #MeToo movement protesting against sexual assault gathers steam. On October 14, the board of governors of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, the institution that awards the Oscars, votes to expel Weinstein, whose films earned dozens of Academy Awards over the years.
– 2018: Weinstein charged – Prosecutors in New York charge Weinstein with rape in the first and third degrees over the alleged 2013 rape of actress Jessica Mann. Weinstein is arraigned in a Manhattan court after surrendering to police amid a mob of television cameras and photographers. His then-defense attorney Ben Brafman secures $1 million bail for Weinstein. On July 2, the prosecution adds three new charges over a “forcible” sexual act in July 2006 on production assistant Mimi Haleyi.
– 2019: New testimony – On August 26, prosecutors file a new indictment that will allow actress Annabella Sciorra, best known for 1992 thriller “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” as well as several episodes of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” to testify as a corroborating witness. Sciorra alleges that Weinstein raped her over the winter of 1993-94 in Manhattan. Her case is too old to pursue, but prosecutors hope her evidence will help convince the jury that Weinstein was a sexual predator. The trial, originally scheduled for September, is postponed to January 6, 2020. Weinstein appoints Chicago attorney Donna Rotunno to lead the defense, after ditching Brafman. A month before the trial kicks off, it is reported that Weinstein has reached a $25 million settlement with more than 30 actresses who accuse him of sexual misconduct, in a civil case unrelated to his criminal trial. Under the agreement, Weinstein does not have to admit any guilt.
– 2020: Guilty conviction – A New York jury on February 24 convicts Weinstein on two charges of sexual assault and rape, which the #MeToo movement lauds as a historic victory ushering in a “new era of justice” for survivors. It came after a seven-week trial in which jurors hear emotional, lurid testimony from women who accuse him of everything from violent rape and abuse to humiliation and sabotaging their careers. Rotunno says prosecutors have created “an alternative universe” and wrongfully cast her client as a “monster.” After the verdict, she vows to appeal his conviction. On March 11, Judge James Burke sentences Weinstein to 23 years in prison, close to the maximum of 29 allowed, rejecting the defense counsel’s pleas to issue a minimum sentence of five years.
– 2022: Los Angeles trial – A jury in Los Angeles finds the Oscar winner guilty in December 2022 on three counts of attacking a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room a decade earlier, including forcible rape. In a weeks-long trial, prosecutors paint a picture of a predatory ogre, who for years executed a “reign of terror,” using his physical size and professional prowess to rape and abuse women in Hollywood. His victims were left terrorized and afraid for their careers, if they spoke out against a man who dominated Tinseltown, prosecutors allege. Weinstein is cleared of another charge, and a mistrial is declared on three more. He vows to appeal the guilty verdicts. His victim in the case says she hopes Weinstein “never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime.” Two months later, the movie mogul is sentenced to 16 years in prison, which a judge orders should be served after his New York sentence.
– 2024: New York conviction overturned – In a shocking reversal, the highest court in the state of New York overturns Weinstein’s 2020 sex crime conviction in a 4-3 decision on April 25. The Court of Appeals cites errors in the way the trial had been conducted, including admitting the testimony of women who were not part of the charges against him. “Order reversed and a new trial ordered,” the ruling says, adding that “allegations of prior bad acts may not be admitted against (defendants) for the sole purpose of establishing their propensity for criminality.” A victims’ group slams the ruling as “disheartening” and “profoundly unjust.” The next moves for Weinstein, currently being held at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, are not immediately clear.
© 2024 AFP
