Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault and rape, a new era for #MeToo

A New York jury on Monday found former film producer Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault and rape by two women, but not predatory sexual behavior, a verdict that ushered in a new era for the #MeToo movement in the courts.

After nearly a month of trial and five days of deliberations, the jury found Weinstein, 67, guilty of first-degree sexual assault for practicing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in July 2006.

The producer of films like "Pulp Fiction" was also found guilty of third-degree rape by former actress Jessica Mann in March 2013.

Weinstein, however, was not found guilty of Mann's first-degree rape crime and on two counts of predatory sexual behavior, the most serious offenses for which he was charged and which could result in a life sentence.

The sentence will be set on March 11 by Judge James Burke, who presided over the case in the Manhattan state criminal court. Weinstein faces a sentence of five to 29 years in prison.

- Making history -

After citing each of the six women who recounted during the process how we had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein, Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance added that these women "changed the course of history in the fight against sexual violence".

“A rape is a rape, whether it is committed by a stranger in a dark alley or by a partner during an intimate relationship. It is rape even though there is no physical evidence and it was something that happened a long time ago, ”added the prosecutor.

The Time's Up movement also commented that the verdict inaugurates "a new era in Justice".

The Time's Up movement, which fights against harassment and sexual assault in the workplace, said that Weinstein's verdict is a “new era of justice, not just for those who broke the silence, who spoke despite the great personal risk , but for all survivors of harassment, abuse and aggression at work ”.

The first criminal trial of an influential man accused under the #MeToo movement, which fights against harassment and sexual assault, began on January 22, culminating in a unanimous verdict among the jury's seven men and five women on Monday.

Comedian Bill Cosby had previously been found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman, but he was charged in 2015, before the birth of the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein has been reported for harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women since the outbreak of the scandal in October 2017, including actresses Salma Hayek and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But he was tried only for two cases: the alleged sexual assault on Mimi Haleyi and the rape of former actress Jessica Mann. Almost all other offenses have been prescribed.

To decide whether Weinstein is a sexual predator, the jury should determine whether he raped Annabella Sciorra's actress, in addition to sexually assaulting Mimi Haleyi and / or raping Jessica Mann.

Sciorra said that Weinstein raped her in the winter of 1993-94, but as the complaint concerns a fact that would have happened three decades ago, the crime has lapsed. However, his testimony, combined with the accusations of Haleyi and Mann, could be used to make him considered a sexual predator.

- "A great impact" -

“It was a mixed verdict. I suppose that both sides can declare that there was a victory, ”Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor and professor of law at Pace University, told AFP. "It will have a big impact" for the #MeToo movement, he said.

Weinstein ainda deve responder por uma acusação em Los Angeles sobre um suposto estupro de uma modelo italiana em fevereiro de 2013, e por agressão sexual à ex-modelo Lauren Young na noite seguinte, em um banheiro de um hotel situado em Beverlly Hills.