Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on Monday (Feb. 24) of rape and a felony sex crime with his sentencing arriving next month. According to the New York Times, the 67-year-old was also acquitted of two additional charges of predatory sexual assault.
As the jury found Weinstein guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, he reportedly looked ahead in an “unmoved” fashion. While over 80 women have accused Weinstein of assault spanning decades, the case focused on the testimonies of six women which included Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young. Four of the cases were reportedly too old to prosecute due to New York’s statute of limitations but they did help illustrate Weinstein’s disturbing pattern of sexual abuse toward young actresses and models.
Weinstein and the women who spoke up against him catapulted the Time’s Up Foundation and Me Too movements. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation, called the guilty verdict a new era of justice.
“This trial — and the jury’s decision today — marks a new era of justice, not just for the Silence Breakers, who spoke out at great personal risk, but for all survivors of harassment, abuse, and assault at work,” Tchen said. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young and all the Silence Breakers for their bravery and resolve as they faced this man in court. We continue to believe them — all of them — and continue to be in solidarity with them.”
The movement transcended industries with sexual assault survivors speaking out against sexual harassment in the workplace. Dating back to 2015, many attempted to get the work out about Weinstein but were met with blocks from those aligned with the movie producer or outlets like NBC simply not ready to publish the accounts of assault.
It wasn’t until Rowan Farrow’s reporting of Weinstein in 2017 that propelled many actresses to also share their encounters with the producer. With accounts from former actress Rose McGowan, Lupita Nyong’o, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek, the incidents kicked off a domino effect against Weinstein.
Weinstein will be sentenced on March 11. He also faces more charges in Los Angeles related to two cases of sexual assault from Feb. 2013. If convicted of those charges, he can face up to 28 years in prison.