Harvey Weinstein’s 16-year prison sentence in California to be re-evaluated

The 16-year prison sentence currently being served by former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein for the rape of a European actress in California must be re-evaluated, an appeals court ordered on Friday. The court, however, upheld the guilt of the founder of Miramax studios for these acts committed in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2013, and for which he was convicted at the end of 2022.

“The sentence is set aside and the case is remanded for resentencing”indicated the court of appeal in its online register. “For the rest, the judgment is confirmed.”

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Aged 74, Harvey Weinstein, whose actions contributed to the triggering of the #MeToo wave, could therefore see his sentence reduced – or increased – in this case.

The fall of the Hollywood ‘god’

The motivations of the court of appeal justifying this decision remain unknown for the moment, because the full judgment has not yet been made public. This development comes the day after the abandonment of proceedings in New York concerning the rape accusations made by actress Jessica Mann, after three trials where the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision.

The former producer is still waiting to hear about his new conviction for sexual assault on Miriam Haley, the film’s production assistant Project Runway.

Since 2017, Harvey Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd. The producer of Pulp Fiction et Shakespeare in Love was one of the most powerful men in world cinema for decades. He had the power to launch careers, but also to destroy them. The community buzzed for years with echoes suggesting that he used his influence to sexually assault young women.

Imprisoned at Rikers Island

The investigations in October 2017 of New York Times a you New Yorker revealing the extent of this scandal caused a shock wave that made the #MeToo movement a global phenomenon, freeing the voices of rape victims in all four corners of the world. His original 2020 conviction in New York, and resulting 23-year prison sentence, was overturned on procedural grounds.

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Now appearing in a wheelchair, Harvey Weinstein continues to contest his guilt and speaks of consensual sex for all the accusations against him. Imprisoned in New York’s Rikers Island Correctional Facility, he said he was terrified in March of dying in prison. “It scares the hell out of me.”he confided to Hollywood Reporter.