Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in a New York State prison today. Weinstein was convicted of committing sexual harassment (a Criminal Sexual Act) and rape, and he was told by the judge that he must formally register as a sex offender.
Weinstein was convicted in February 2020 of the assault of former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2013 and the rape of former actress Jessica Mann in the same year. While Weinstein was originally tried for five charges, the jury chose to dismiss three of them, leaving him to face sentencing for the sexual harassment and rape charges. The decision held a maximum of 29 years. His team will reportedly appeal the decision.
In response to the sentencing, a number of groups released statements. A group of 24 Weinstein accusers, called the Silence Breakers, noted that this decision will follow Weinstein for the rest of his life.
“Harvey Weinstein’s legacy will always be that he’s a convicted rapist. He is going to jail – but no amount of jail time will repair the lives he ruined, the careers he destroyed, or the damage he has caused,” the group wrote, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation, also issued a statement, focusing more on the victims instead of Weinstein.
“The trauma of sexual assault and harassment is lifelong — we can only hope that today’s sentence brings all of the survivors of Harvey Weinstein some measure of peace,” Tchen said. “We also hope that these women take pride in knowing the impact they have had on our culture at large. Whether by inspiring more survivors to come forward and seek help, changing how the justice system responds to sexual violence, or leading corporate boards to hold more CEOs accountable for toxic workplace culture, the social change catalyzed by these survivors has been nothing short of transformational.”
While this 23-year sentence brings Weinstein’s New York case to a close, the Los Angeles County district has announced that it will still proceed with its own charges against the disgraced film industry giant. In LA, Weinstein faces four felony sex crime convictions for raping a woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013. Weinstein faces another 28 years of sentencing in the LA case.
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