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Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of one count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree following a retrial in New York. The six-week proceedings concluded on June 11, with the jury convicting Weinstein for forcibly performing oral sex on former television production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.
The jury, composed of seven women and five men, deliberated for five days before reaching a partial verdict. Weinstein was acquitted of another criminal sexual act charge involving model Kaja Sokola and a verdict is still pending on the third charge, relating to the alleged 2013 rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann. Deliberations on that count are expected to continue.
This retrial followed the April 2024 overturning of Weinstein's 2020 conviction, where he had initially been sentenced to 23 years in prison. The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court had allowed improper testimony. "We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts...because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose," the court stated.
Prosecutors in the retrial presented testimonies from Haley, Mann, and Sokola, who all accused Weinstein of exploiting his influence in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse them. "They all had dreams of pursuing careers in the defendant's world, the entertainment industry," said prosecutor Nicole Blumberg. "He was going to have their bodies and touch their bodies whether they wanted him to or not."
Weinstein's defense claimed the encounters were consensual and mutually beneficial. His lawyer argued, "It's transactional, folks. Yes, he wants to fool around with them, and yes, they want something from him."
During jury deliberations, tensions rose. The jury foreperson voiced concerns about being pressured by other jurors and feared for his safety, citing threats such as "I'll meet you outside one day." He was eventually allowed to speak privately with the judge and legal teams. Weinstein's attorney Arthur Aidala requested a mistrial, arguing, "I don't think the court is protecting this juror. Period." Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, however, described the foreperson as "stubborn" rather than frightened.
Weinstein, who is also serving a 16-year sentence from a separate Los Angeles conviction in 2022, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains that all his sexual encounters were consensual.
