Harvey Weinstein Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison For Rape And Sexual Assault

Harvey Weinstein has had his hand in a number of films that most of us have seen and know well, such as Lion, The H8teful Eight, Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, The Fighter, and more. Countless politicians and celebrities have praised him publicly, posed with him in pictures, and worked with him in some capacity in the past. Even Michelle Obama, former First Lady, once described Weinstein at an official event at the White House as "a wonderful human being and a good friend."

A-list celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Gwyneth Paltrow have taken multiple pictures with him, beaming and hugging. But in 2020, his reputation changed forever. He was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women during his reign in Hollywood. His attorney claimed that transactional sex was normal in this industry and actresses slept with him intentionally "because he's powerful" and they wanted to get ahead in their career.

Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Rape and Sexual Assault

Rose McGowan was among the first and loudest of women to come forward and speak the truth about Harvey Weinstein. She, along with many other women, accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her after they encountered one another in a professional setting. This played a big role in launching the #MeToo movement, a worldwide platform that aimed to raise awareness of sexual abuse at the hands of men, particularly powerful ones.

After a trial that lasted almost two months, Weinstein was convicted of raping an Italian model and actress in 2013 (who went by Jane Doe 1) after he allegedly pushed his way into her hotel room. The jury found him guilty of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration with a foreign object.

“There is no prison sentence long enough to erase the damage. ... He deserves to experience the same shame, humiliation and fear as I did,” she said in court, asking Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench to give him a maximum sentence.

Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison; he is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York from his 2020 case in which he was found guilty on more than 11 counts of sexual assault between 2004 and 2013. He is 70 years old, and reportedly he isn't in good health. Judge Lench ruled that he cannot serve the two sentences concurrently, and he's not eligible for release until at least 2050, so it's expected that he will die in prison.

Weinstein claimed that he is innocent during this recent court case. “I did not rape this woman. I did not see this woman. I wasn’t at the hotel,” he said. He claimed that the woman who accused him of rape simply turned the tears on to convince people of her story.

“This is about money and coming after me,” Weinstein said. “Please don’t sentence me to life in prison. I don’t deserve it… There are so many things wrong with this case. There is no evidence… This is a setup… I beg your mercy.”

His attorneys tried to maintain (once again) that he is simply "a caricature because of the #MeToo movement." They attempted to elicit compassion for his age and poor health, stating that he "lived a full, rich and productive life that included being a father of five children." Judge Lench said, "These are not easy decisions to make," but she moved forward with the sentence of 16 years.