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“I’m not going to say that these aren’t great people,” he also said of his accusers. “I’ve had wonderful times with these people.”
Judge James Burke sentenced him to 20 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual act and three years in prison for third-degree rape. The sentences will run consecutively and both come with five years of supervision after release, and Weinstein also must register as a sex offender.
“This is a first conviction, but it is not a first offense,” Burke said.
Weinstein wore a blank face as he was taken out of the courtroom. His accusers cried together in the front row.
Weinstein’s defense attorneys had asked that he be sentenced to five years in prison and argued that, given his frail health, anything longer would constitute a de facto life sentence.
Defense Donna Rotunno lambasted the 23-year punishment as “obscene,” “obnoxious” and “cowardly,” and she argued that Weinstein did not get a fair trial.
“There are murderers who will get out of court faster than Harvey Weinstein will. “That (23-year) number spoke to the pressure of movements in the public. That number did not speak to the evidence that came out of trial,” she said.
“If Harvey Weinstein had not been convicted by this jury, it would have happened again and again and again,” Haley told the court. “I’m relieved he will now know he’s not above the law. I’m relieved there are women out there who are safer because he’s not out there.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has begun the process of extraditing him to California to face those charges, the agency said in a tweet. No arraignment has been set.
Weinstein’s statement came as a surprise
Weinstein, who did not testify during the trial, spoke Wednesday without prepared remarks for about 20 minutes, continuing even as defense attorney Arthur Aidala repeatedly and quietly asked him to stop talking. At one point, his attorneys asked for a pause and conferred with him; when he began speaking again, he said he’d lost his train of thought.
Weinstein said he believed the relationships with women who spoke out against him were consensual, mentioning Mann. “I really, really was under that impression that I had that kind of relationship, five years with Jessica,” he said.
He lamented how the allegations had impacted his personal life.
“I haven’t seen my three older children since the day the New York Times article came out,” he said, referring to the October 2017 story that broke open a wave of claims against Weinstein. “I haven’t seen them. I have no idea what they’re doing. That, to me, is hell on Earth.”
Weinstein said he’s worried about this country and people’s right to due process. He also told the judge that he wanted to testify during the trial but his attorneys warned him that it would hurt his case.
Outside court, Rotunno said Weinstein feels “terrible” and is “confused” about the sentence, adding that she supported his decision to speak in court.
“I’m happy that Harvey spoke. Harvey has been silent for years. I think Harvey could have said anything today and it wouldn’t have mattered,” Rotunno said. “From Harvey’s perspective, Harvey needed to do that, and I’m glad that he was able to do so.”
Weinstein was acquitted of two more serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which could have come with a life sentence.
Victims describe how Weinstein changed their lives
In court before the sentence was delivered, Haley broke down crying as she described during her victim impact statement being assaulted by Weinstein.
“I believe that when he attacked me that evening with physical force, with no regard for my cries and protests, it scarred me deeply — mentally and emotionally,” Haley said.
Haley said the past two years have been excruciating, filled with paranoia and daily fear of retaliation. And while testifying against Weinstein was difficult, it did help Haley process what had happened to her, she said.
Haley felt Weinstein showed a lack of remorse or acknowledgment for his crimes, she said, and she asked the judge to consider a sentence “long enough for Harvey Weinstein to acknowledge what he has done.”
Mann minutes later asked Burke to impose the maximum sentence for rape in the third degree, with sentences served concurrently.
Mann wants the “gift” of knowing exactly where Weinstein is at all times, she said, adding she hopes he’ll be rehabilitated in prison.
“Twelve people found Harvey unanimously guilty of raping me. That is not an easy task,” she said.
Mann also referenced drug charges that she said carry longer sentence recommendations than third-degree rape.
“How am I not worth more than cocaine?” she said.
Weinstein has denied all allegations of “nonconsensual sexual activity” related to the New York case and other claims made against him.
Defense asked for 5 years in prison
The prosecutor also described the glamorous lifestyle Weinstein lived as a giant of the movie industry.
“He got drunk on the power,” Illuzzi-Orbon said. “Young struggling dreamers were not real people to him.”
Illuzzi-Orbon read a profile of Weinstein given to hotel employees in which they were cautioned, “Do not go near the car. Do not speak at him. Do not look at him. Stay away.”
Illuzzi-Orbon also noted Weinstein’s significant legal representation, saying she thought his defense team made every reasonable argument it should have and could have made on his behalf.
“Starting in the 1970s, he has trapped women into his exclusive control and assaulted or attempted to assault them,” Illuzzi-Orbon wrote in a letter.
“His wife divorced him, he was fired from The Weinstein Company, and in short, he lost everything,” the attorneys wrote.
The attorneys also cited the “collateral consequences” he continues to face.
“Mr. Weinstein cannot walk outside without being heckled, he has lost his means to earn a living, simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media,” according to the letter signed by attorneys Damon Cheronis, Rotunno and Aidala.
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