: Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years after rape conviction #IndiaNEWS #Entertainment Los Angeles, Feb 24 (IANS) Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years, effectively ensuring

Posted in: #IndiaNEWS #Entertainment #MeToo

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years after rape conviction #IndiaNEWS #Entertainment
Los Angeles, Feb 24 (IANS) Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years, effectively ensuring the former Hollywood mogul and convicted rapist will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Weinsteins sentencing was held in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning, nearly two months after his Los Angeles trial concluded with a jury convicting him on three counts of rape and sexual assault, reports Variety.
Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York, after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in that jurisdiction in his 2020 criminal trial.
On Thursday, the judge ordered Weinstein to serve his L. A. sentence consecutively after New York.
Before he was sentenced, Weinstein addressed the court, making one final plea to Judge Lisa B. Lench.
I maintain that Im innocent, Weinstein said.
This is about money and coming after me, Weinstein said. Please dont sentence me to life in prison. I dont deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. There is no evidence. This is a setup. I beg your mercy.
Weinsteins defence, led by Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, asked the judge to sentence him to three years per charge, urging her to look to the man he was before he became accused as a sexual predator, and saying that he has become a caricature because of the #MeToo movement.
His attorney noted that Weinstein has medical issues and is a father.
Hes a 70-year-old man in bad health, Werksman said.
He lived a full, rich and productive life that included being a father to five children. He has become to his children the disembodied voice on the telephone.
Werksman hailed Weinsteins work in the entertainment industry, urging the judge to recognise his accomplishments.
After Weinstein and his attorneys spoke, the judge sentenced Weinstein to 16 years for the three charges on which the jury found him guilty.
These are not easy decisions to make, but this is my decision, Lench said.
All three charges on which Weinstein were convicted were based on the counts relating to Jane Doe #1, a European model who testified she was raped by Weinstein at Mr C Hotel after the L. A. Italia Film Festival in 2013.
Joe Doe #1 appeared in court, alongside her daughter, to deliver an emotional victim impact statement, crying throughout as she spoke at a podium.
It is extremely difficult for me to stand here, ten years later, as the effects of this rape are still raw, and difficult to discuss. I have been carrying this weight, this trauma, this irrational belief that it was my fault for years, she said, addressing the judge.
His selfish, disgusting actions have greatly impacted me and my life. What he did to me was horrible.