CNN
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[Breaking news update, published at 6:05 p.m. ET]
A Los Angeles jury returned a verdict Monday in the sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein, the former movie producer accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them. The verdict will be announced soon.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a total of seven counts: two counts of forcible rape, forcible sexual assault and forced oral copulation, and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object.
If convicted, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.
The verdict was delivered as jurors entered their third week of deliberations, meeting for a total of 41 hours over a 10-day period.
Weinstein was found guilty of similar charges in New York in 2020 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
[Original story, published at 2:02 p.m. ET]
A Los Angeles jury resumed deliberations Monday in Harvey Weinstein’s second sexual assault trial, meeting for a tenth day to decide a verdict after weeks of testimony.
The disgraced movie mogul, accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them, is awaiting a decision behind bars.
Weinstein faces two counts of forcible rape and five counts of sexual assault related to charges by four women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and wife of the Governor of California. Gavin Newsom, who alleged Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts against him. He initially faced 11 charges, but four charges related to an unnamed woman were dropped after she failed to testify.
The jury had already deliberated for about 37 hours in total when it adjourned last Wednesday, without a verdict being returned.
The former movie producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a sexual assault conviction in New York. His attorneys appealed the conviction, bringing more attention to the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.
If the Los Angeles jury finds him guilty, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.
The Los Angeles jury took longer than the New York jury in Weinstein’s first criminal trial, in which he was found guilty of criminal sex act and third-degree rape after 26 hours of deliberation.
As deliberations continued in Los Angeles, the jury posed a question to the court and at least twice requested that the testimony be reread. Los Angeles Superior Court officials did not provide details of those claims.
The week-long trial in Los Angeles saw moving testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – who were all asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details about meetings with the producer from years ago. , and explain their reactions to the alleged attacks.
In her closing arguments, Assistant Los Angeles County District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on women and silence them.
Rapists rape. You can look at the model,” fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson told jurors.
“You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence of what this man was and what he did to these women,” Thompson said.
Meanwhile, Weinstein’s lawyers have argued the allegations were either fabricated or occurred consensually in a “transactional relationship” with the film producer, repeatedly claiming there is no had no evidence of assault.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “seekers of fame and fortune”.
The trial in Los Angeles included testimony from the four accusers identified as Jane Does in court, as well as other witnesses, including experts, law enforcement, friends of the accusers and former Weinstein aides.
Additionally, four women tested were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.
Every morning at trial, Weinstein was wheeled from a correctional facility and into the Los Angeles courtroom wearing a suit and tie and holding a composition notebook.
His accusers all began their often moving testimonies by identifying him in the courtroom as he looked on.
“He’s wearing a suit and a blue tie and he’s looking at me,” Siebel Newsom said last month, ahead of what was one of the trial’s most emotional moments.
On Thursday last week, defense attorney Jackson asked jurors if they could “take what (the Jane Do) said as gospel”, arguing that what they said was a lack of medical evidence. legal evidence in support of their assertion.
“Five words that sum up the entire prosecution case: ‘Trust me at my word,'” Jackson said. Take my word for it that he showed up at my hotel room unannounced. Take my word for it, I showed up at his hotel room. Take my word for it, I didn’t consent. Take my word for it, I said no. ”
Siebel Newsom described an hour-long “cat-and-mouse period” leading up to his alleged assault. She, like other accusers, described feeling “frozen” that day.
Weinstein’s attorneys don’t deny the incident, but said he believed it was normal.
Jackson called the incident “consensual and transactional sex,” adding, “Regret is not the same as rape. And it’s important that we make that distinction in this courtroom.
Women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing Jane Doe 2 in the case, told CNN she hopes the jury will see that her client “has no reason to do anything but tell the truth. “.
“She has never asked for or received compensation…She no longer lives in California. But she’s testing because she was asked to testify and I hope they see her as the young woman she was when she met Harvey Weinstein, and the woman she is today about nine to ten years later. Her life changed,” Allred said.
Agree to submit to what could be a very brutal cross-examination. It takes a very special person to do that. And she is a special person. I’m very proud,” Allred said.
In her closing arguments, Martinez also pointed out that the women tested chose to do so when they knew they would face difficult conditions in court.
“The truth is, while you’re sitting here, we know the despicable behavior of the defendant. He thought he was so powerful that people…would excuse his behavior,” Martinez said. It’s just Harvey being Harvey. It’s just Hollywood. And for so long, that’s what everybody did. Everybody just turned their heads.
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