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Harvey Weinstein found guilty in landmark #MeToo moment

Published:Monday | February 24, 2020 | 12:08 PM
Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse as jury deliberations continue in his rape trial, Monday, February 24, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday on some but not all charges at his sexual assault trial, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.

He was convicted on charges stemming from a 2006 sexual assault and a 2013 rape.

The jury found Weinstein not guilty on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, that could have resulted in a life sentence.

The most damaging conviction, for the sexual assault of production assistant Mimi Haleyi, would carry a maximum sentence of 25 years.

Weinstein, 67, had a look of resignation as the verdict came in, and was seen talking to his lawyers shortly after.

The verdict followed weeks of often harrowing and excruciatingly graphic testimony from a string of accusers who told of rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and that’s-Hollywood excuses from Weinstein about how the casting couch works.

The conviction was seen as a long-overdue reckoning for Weinstein after years of whispers about his behaviour turned into a torrent of accusations in 2017 that destroyed his career and gave rise to #MeToo, the global movement to encourage women to come forward and hold powerful men accountable for their sexual misconduct.

The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find him guilty.

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