Harvey Weinstein: fall of Hollywood player they once called ‘God’

[Crossroads Inc.]

Oh no not Garrison Keilor too

The man has the Sexuality of a dry potato. If ever there was a single individual I would defend from such accusations it would be Garrison.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Brett Ratner is in the firing line too- rumours have it Gadot won't appear as WW any more if he's involved.

[Simon_Jester]

Good on her for issuing the ultimatum.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Harvey Weinstein has appeared in court charged with rape and sexual abuse - after the disgraced movie mogul handed himself into police.
The former film producer arrived at a police station in New York on Friday, where he was charged, handcuffed and taken to court.
Having been granted $1 million bail, the 66-year-old's lawyer indicated that Weinstein would be pleading not guilty to the charges, which relate to two complainants.
His lawyer described the charges as "constitutionally flawed", adding that Weinstein "vehemently denied" the allegations.
Weinstein's court appearance comes in the wake of assault allegations from several women.
But the charges of rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct relate to incidents involving just two women.
A throng of photographers awaited Weinstein, dressed in a black blazer and blue jumper, throughout the day.

Harvey Weinstein appears in court on rape and sex assault charges.

[The Romulan Republic]

Excellent. Its nice to see that the rich and powerful aren't always immune to justice.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Guilty.

Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape in the third degree but cleared of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault at his trial in New York.

The allegations sparked the MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse and dozens of women made accusations against the disgraced film mogul.

The 67-year-old was found guilty of a criminal sex act for assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 and third-degree rape of a woman in 2013.

Following the verdicts, New York County District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, described Weinstein as a "vicious, serial sexual predator".

The trial was the first criminal case to arise from a barrage of allegations against Weinstein from more than 90 women, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman.

The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find him guilty.

The case against the once-feared producer was essentially built on three allegations: that he raped an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013, that he forcibly performed oral sex on another woman at his apartment in 2006, and that he raped and forcibly performed oral sex on another actress in her apartment in the mid-1990s.

[Ziggy Stardust]

but cleared of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault at his trial in New York.

Because of fucking COURSE he was.

[mr friendly guy]

What is difference between rape of the third degree, as opposed to rape of the first or second degrees?

[Coop D'etat]

What is difference between rape of the third degree, as opposed to rape of the first or second degrees?

First is distinguished from third in New York law by the element of "forcible compulsion." Second degree is distinguished from third degree by lack of capacity to consent for a variety of reasons.

Essentially the verdict states that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that there was a rape but they hadn't made the case for the level of force to find first degree rape. This kind of compromise difference splitting is very common by juries in sexual assault cases and is in some degree to be expected even if it suggests contorted logic to get there. Its not that hard for a prosecutor to make back some of the ground on sentencing (sentencing isn't limited to the facts of case established by the verdict) though, so getting any kind of conviction is typically a win on the balance for them.

[The Romulan Republic]

Surprised but glad he was convicted, sad it wasn't on all counts, hope they give him the harshest sentence they can and he doesn't worm his way off the hook on appeal.

[LadyTevar]

Wasn't there something about California now filing charges against him?

[Solauren]

I believe so. I think there are alot more pending charges against him, as everyone was waiting to see If/How strongly he was nailed by New York State. If he'd been convicted on all counts, the odds of him ever being released were pretty low (he's 67 years old). That would make prosecuting him "not cost-effective". Shitty, I know, but you have to pick your battles.

However, since he wasn't convicted on all counts, other districts may be filing charges, in hopes of keeping him behind bars for the rest of his natural life.

[LaCroix]

What is difference between rape of the third degree, as opposed to rape of the first or second degrees?

1st = violent force
2nd = unable to resist (e.g too drunk/drugged)
3rd = extorted to comply

[Solauren]

(Note: All legal terms in qoute marks)
Given who is 'alleging' Mr. Weinstein committed these acts (re: Actresses that could fall under his employ, or whos employment he could negatively impact), 3rd degree Sexual Assault would be the easiest to prove and argue for.

Violent force would be difficult to prove without medical examination very soon after the assault.
Unable to resist would also be difficult to prove without medical examination.

However 'Major producer, he told me either I blow him or my career would be garbage'. That doesn't need medical examination.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

He's been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Link.

He was found guilty in a trial in New York last month, a dramatic fall from grace for one of Hollywood's most powerful figures.

The 67-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair.

His lawyers had appealed for leniency, saying even the minimum sentence of five years could be a "life sentence".

But prosecutors argued Weinstein should be given the maximum possible sentence given his "lifetime of abuse" towards women and "lack of remorse" for his actions.

Weinstein addressed the court for the first time on Wednesday, saying he had "deep remorse" but described him and other men as "totally confused" by events in comments seen as critical to the #MeToo movement.

[bilateralrope]

Given his apparent health problems, how long is he likely to survive in prison ?

[Solauren]

Probably not long.

Also, given what he did....
There are probably inmates in there that have a fascination with one or more of the women that accused him, and may decide to 'Avenge' her.

I'd be surprised if he makes the 5 years his lawyers requested.

[Coop D'etat]

I believe I mentioned above that the prosecution would make up the lost ground on not getting all the charges proven on sentencing.

[Elfdart]

Given his apparent health problems, how long is he likely to survive in prison ?

Depends on whether they put him in Jeffrey Epstein's cell -you know, the one with the "defective surveillance"?

[mr friendly guy]

And "God" has apparently tested positive for the coronavirus.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jailed-ha ... rus-report

[The Romulan Republic]

And "God" has apparently tested positive for the coronavirus.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jailed-ha ... rus-report

Well, given his age and ill-health, his odds of serving a lengthy prison sentence aren't terribly great.

On a darker note, this thing is going to go through prison populations like wildfire.

[Lord Revan]

And "God" has apparently tested positive for the coronavirus.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jailed-ha ... rus-report

Well, given his age and ill-health, his odds of serving a lengthy prison sentence aren't terribly great.

On a darker note, this thing is going to go through prison populations like wildfire.

Tough from what I've heard dying from the Corona virus isn't gonna be a mercy either.

And honestly I'm not all surpriced that corona virus is spreading thru the US prison population like wildfire, I mean you got massive amounts of people in confined spaces who are essentially robed of their human rights and thus probably aren't even on the list of "people to be treated/isolated in case of a corona infection"

[Solauren]

I can imagine how quickly the Corona virus would take down a prison population to. It's not like they have high care bed capacity.

[The Romulan Republic]

I can imagine how quickly the Corona virus would take down a prison population to. It's not like they have high care bed capacity.

Yeah.

The worst is going to be Trump's immigrant concentration camps. Dozens of people packed into a tiny cage together, with people already dying from harsh conditions and lack of medical care? You think Trump, who won't even act to help US cities, is going to lift a finger to help them? Thousands will die there. Which will be used as "proof" that migrants are bringing it over the border, so we have to lock them all up...

Which I would argue qualifies as a genocide. Remember that a lot of the victims of the Holocaust didn't die in gas chambers- they died of overwork, exposure, malnutrition, and yes, diseases (including Anne Frank). We still count those deaths as part of the genocide, because the Nazis created those conditions deliberately. Likewise, we count the famine deaths in the Ukraine against Stalin. And we'll have to count the coronavirus deaths, especially in prisons and concentration camps, against the Trump Regime.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial

New York’s highest court overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction on Thursday.

It found the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with "egregious" improper rulings.

"We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes," the court's 4-3 decision said.

"The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial."

One of the key issues the court found was a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case.

The state Court of Appeals ruling reopens a chapter in America with sexual misconduct allegations against powerful figures being exposed.

The #MeToo era began to gain widespread momentum in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein and other big names in Hollywood.

After Thursday's ruling, his accusers could be forced to relive their traumas again on the witness stand.

Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala said immediately after the ruling came out: “We all worked very hard and this is a tremendous victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York.”

Attorney Douglas H Wigdor, who has represented eight of the 72-year-olds accusers including two witnesses at the New York criminal trial, called the ruling “a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence”.

Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison, following his conviction on charges of criminal sex acts.

The first was for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and the second being rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.

He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Weinstein, the studio boss behind such Oscar winners as “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.

Dozens of women came forward to accuse Weinstein, including famous actresses such as Ashley Judd and Uma Thurman.

His New York trial drew intense publicity, with protesters chanting “rapist” outside the courthouse.

Weinstein is incarcerated in New York at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany.

He maintains his innocence. He contends any sexual activity was consensual.