After being sentenced to 23 years in a New York court for two counts of sexual assault in 2020, acclaimed filmmaker Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in a Los Angeles court for three more counts of sexual assault, which basically means he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The trial in California includes allegations by four women against Weinstein related to incidents that took place from 2004-2013 within Los Angeles County, and was brought to court on two counts of rape and five other charges of sexual assault, all of which Weinstein pleaded not guilty to.
Last Dec. 19, a 12-member jury found Weinstein guilty of three counts of sexual assault, including one count of rape, all three based on allegations made against him by Anonymous Woman #1, a European model. Now a 16-year sentence was announced.
Before the sentencing announcement, Weinstein made his final defense, insisting to the court that he was innocent, stating that he had never raped or sexually assaulted Anonymous Woman #1, did not know each other, and “meant no disrespect, but she was an actress and could do with tears.”
Weinstein claimed he was framed, argued that there were many holes and things wrong with the case, asked the jury not to sentence him to life in prison, and said he had no intention of causing harm but had come to make people happy, “I’ve been making people happy for the last many years.”
In 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault in a New York court and sentenced to 23 years in prison, a case that is going through the appeals process.
