Harvey Weinstein - guilty of sexual assault

Sarah

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51621041

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of two counts in his sexual assault trial.

He has been convicted on lesser charges of third-degree rape and a criminal sexual act in the first degree.

But Weinstein, 67, has been acquitted of the most serious charges against him - of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape.

He still faces charges in Los Angeles of rape and sexual assault of two women in 2013.

More than 80 women, including famous actresses, had accused him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades.


He could have been looking at a potential life sentence if he had been convicted of predatory sexual assault, but he still faces up to 25 years in prison.

Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress.

The jury of seven men and five women reached their verdict on Monday morning, the fifth day of deliberations.

Weinstein entered court before the verdict wearing a navy blue suit and leaning on a walking frame.

The case was at the centre of the #MeToo movement that inspired women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Weinstein shot to fame with critically acclaimed films such as Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.
 

Snarky Oracle!

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His only going down on two of the lesser charges shouldn't surprise anybody.

Weinstein is obviously not a good guy. But with all the women who have had issues or made accusations towards him, why use as your two main complainants women who maintained a romantic, flirty relationship with him long after the date of their alleged rapes?? Yes, marital rape is a thing, so relationship rape can happen, but almost any jury is going to wonder: "but why did she stay?"

I'm not saying that that good (or bad) but, for strategic courtroom reasons, why not use women who were raped but not romantically involved with him? Surely there were some.
 

Angela Channing

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Weinstein is obviously not a good guy. But with all the women who have had issues or made accusations towards him, why use as your two main complainants women who maintained a romantic, flirty relationship with him long after the date of their alleged rapes?? Yes, marital rape is a thing, so relationship rape can happen, but almost any jury is going to wonder: "but why did she stay?"
The women weren't on trial so their most relevant action was to not to consent to sex. The nature of their relationship with Weinstein or "why did [they] stay" was not particularly relevant if it was accepted that they didn't give consent.
 

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The women weren't on trial so their most relevant action was to not to consent to sex. The nature of their relationship with Weinstein or "why did [they] stay" was not particularly relevant if it was accepted that they didn't give consent.
It's relevant because it's he said/she said --- which makes it harder for the jury to determine what happened. Their ongoing relationship with him long after their alleged assaults will cause any jury to potentially wonder about whether theses women were telling the unvarnished truth, which is likely why the most serious charges didn't result in a conviction.

But he has an all-new trial waiting for him in Los Angeles.
 

Kenny Coyote

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Yes, marital rape is a thing,

Seriously? I don't mean abuse, of any kind, I just mean having sex with your spouse. That can be a crime? This is the first I've heard of it.

OK, if they're separated (impending divorce) then yeah, they're on bad terms obviously, so I'd consider consent to be revoked when they decide to separate.Besides couples who have decided to separate, how can having sex with each other be legally recognized as a crime?

When my wife and I got married we gave our consent to each other when we said "I do."
 

Emelee

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Good. His pattern of using his power to harass, threaten and abuse women for so many years has earned him a place in a cell. It would have sent a horrible message if he had been found not guilty and gotten a free from jail card. Too many very credible women have come forward.
 

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Those they used were pretty credible too apparently. Enough to sentence him to prison for the rest of his life.
But you find all women credible.

The reason they couldn't get a conviction on the more serious charges is that these two women maintained a very flirty sexual relationship long after the date of their alleged rapes by Weinstein. That's hard for a jury to ignore.
 

Frank Underwood

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Weinstein was a supporter of establishment Democrats, friend to Hillary Clinton, and called Bernie Sanders a sexist. I can't say I'm shocked that he's a rapist scumbag.

Weinstein has fallen and hit his head, and he's also experienced heart trouble since entering prison. Prison sure is dangerous for friends of the Clintons whose last names end in "stein."

 

darkshadows38

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oh brother, i am thrilled that the bastard got 23 years! and just because one woman sometimes annoys you at times doesn't mean you have to doubt that damn.
 

Angela Channing

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oh brother, i am thrilled that the bastard got 23 years! and just because one woman sometimes annoys you at times doesn't mean you have to doubt that damn.
I agree. I was so delighted for those brave women who came forward to help put this monster away.
 

darkshadows38

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the only thing that makes me laugh is that people act like the casting couch is a new thing when it's been around since the Silent era of film & i would not be surprised if it's even still around, but to take a guess maybe they don't threaten the women on ruining their careers anymore if they don't or they don't ruin it if they don't. course i have no proof of this but i would not be surprised if i was right. anyways 23 years is longer than i thought he'd get but not long enough, but looking at his age he's apparently 67 he'll be 90 when he is released if he lives that long so he may die in prison and i'm okay with that i think.

that's justice i think
 
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