Posted by Amarachi on Fri 24th Feb, 2023 - tori.ng
Prosecutors said Weinstein exploited and abused women for years, and long enjoyed impunity because of his then-powerful position in the industry.
Harvey Weinstein
Embattled American film producer, Harvey Weinstein, on Thursday, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the r*pe of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room.
Weinstein, who is already serving a 23-year sentence for a s*x crimes conviction in New York, was handed the latest sentence by a Los Angeles court over the assault of a European actress a decade ago.
Attending court in a wheelchair, the 70-year-old Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love” producer begged the judge for “mercy.”
“Please don’t sentence me to life in prison. I don’t deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case,” he said.
But Judge Lisa Lench handed him three consecutive sentences totalling 16 years for forcible oral copulation, s*xual penetration by a foreign object, and forcible r*pe.
The actress, whose identity was not revealed, had tearfully called on the judge to give Weinstein “the maximum sentence allowable,” which would have been 18 years.
“His selfish, disgusting actions have greatly impacted my life,” she said.
“There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.”
Weinstein’s lawyers have said they will appeal the Los Angeles verdict, which came with his conviction by a jury in December.
The trial had heard explicit accounts of meetings between the previously influential movie producer and several young women who were attempting to find a foothold in Hollywood.
Prosecutors said Weinstein exploited and abused women for years, and long enjoyed impunity because of his then-powerful position in the industry.
The women would have risked losing their future Hollywood job prospects if they had publicly accused Weinstein at the time, prosecutors said.