Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison on Sex Crime Conviction
"Although this is a first conviction, it is not a first offense," acting New York County Supreme Court Justice James Burke said.
March 11, 2020 at 11:17 AM
5 minute read
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison Wednesday, near the maximum sentence available for the pair of sex crimes for which he was convicted in late February.
"Although this is a first conviction, it is not a first offense," acting New York County Supreme Court Justice James Burke said, explaining that he has seen evidence that Weinstein sexually assaulted "a number of women" beyond the two cases in which he was convicted.
Weinstein's defense attorneys had asked Burke to sentence Weinstein to five years in prison, the lowest option available. Defense attorney Donna Rotunno of Chicago argued that Weinstein, who will turn 68 next week, has medical issues so serious that he might not even survive the minimum sentence.
A Manhattan jury found Weinstein guilty of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon asked Burke to give Weinstein consecutive sentences at or near the maximum, which is 25 years for criminal sexual act and four years for the rape conviction.
Weinstein spoke for about 10 minutes immediately before he was sentenced. He said he felt remorse "for this situation" and believed he had real friendships with the women involved, and he spoke at greater length about his concerns for the loss of due process for the men accused of sexual offenses in recent years. At one point, he compared the flood of accusations against men to the Red Scare of the 1950s.
"I think he just needed to get some things out of his system," his attorney, Arthur Aidala of Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, said later.
Weinstein's lawyers said their client planned to file postverdict motions and, if necessary, an appeal. Aidala said the team is waiting to figure out Weinstein's situation in Los Angeles, where he's charged with forcible rape and several other crimes, before proceeding with the appeal.
Hours after Weinstein was sentenced, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced they had begun the extradition process. No arraignment date had been set as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. Weinstein's legal team is reviewing the request and will discuss it with him, a spokesman said Wednesday afternoon.
"I am overcome with anger at that number, I think that number is a very cowardly number to give," Rotunno said outside the courthouse.
She said the sentence is unfair and that Burke erred in considering accounts of accusers outside of the criminal complaint. Witnesses, including the actress Annabella Sciorra, testified at trial to show Weinstein's prior bad acts.
Sciorra, who was seated in the courtroom's front row between Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and the five other women who testified against Weinstein, cried as Burke announced the sentence.
Vance thanked the women in a statement, saying they "gave hope" to survivors all over the world.
"We thank the court for imposing a sentence that puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice," he said. "We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years. Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent. But they refused to be silent, and they were heard."
Weinstein's victims, Jessica Mann and Miriam Haley, each read statements in court, explaining the long-term effect Weinstein has had on their lives. Both said they were deeply affected by the knowledge, after October 2017, that they were not Weinstein's only victims.
In his statement, which seemed scattered at times and was interrupted once by Aidala, who held a hushed conference with Weinstein at the defense table, Weinstein mentioned that he hadn't seen his three adult daughters since news of his behavior broke in October 2017.
He described his charitable work, saying that many people, including survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and Brooklyn business owners affected by Hurricane Sandy, like and respect him. He mentioned that he hid his behavior from both his ex-wives and would do "a lot of things differently."
"I had no great powers in this industry," he said. "Miramax at the height of its fame was a smaller company by far than [Disney, Sony or Paramount]."
Weinstein, who was hospitalized after the verdict and has been at Rikers Island since, appeared in court wearing a suit and using a wheelchair.
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