Harvey Weinstein found guilty of sexual assault, rape

Harvey Weinstein, a former US filmmaker, has been convicted of a first-degree criminal sex act and third-degree rape involving two different women.

The 67-year-old has been in a legal battle with multiple women on sexual misconduct allegations, with Lupita Nyong’o, a Kenyan-Mexican actress, detailing her personal experience with Weinstein in 2017.

The many accusations had given rise to the #MeToo movement, which sees a huge number of women publicly accuse business moguls, government officials, and entertainers of sexual assault alike.

On Monday, Weinstein was found guilty in Manhattan state court of committing a criminal sex act in the first degree involving one woman and rape in the third degree involving another woman, but was acquitted on charges of predatory sexual assault involving the two women.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for nearly 27 hours over five days.

Following his conviction, Weinstein, who had been free on bond during the trial, was handcuffed while the judge ordered him to be sent to jail immediately, pending his March 11 sentencing by James Burke.

Although it’s unclear how many years Weinstein will do in prison, an offender risks a minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years jail term for a first-degree criminal sex act.

In the same vein, Weinstein faces no minimum jail term on the second charge for which he was convicted but risks a maximum of four years — aside from other sexual assault charges against him.

TheCable had in December reported how Weinstein was said to have agreed to pay the sum of $25 million in settlement to dozens of women who accused him of sexual misconduct.

The deal was, however, to await final approval from the courts and individuals involved, having applied to Weinstein’s numerous alleged victims in the US, Canada, Britain, and Ireland.