Former Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape Monday in a Los Angeles court.
Weinstein was found guilty on three of seven charges, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object, according to multiple news outlets.
Jurors deliberated for nearly two weeks before returning the guilty verdicts based on reports of an unnamed woman who said she was raped by Weinstein in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013.
Prosecutors said he used his Hollywood influence to lure aspiring actresses into private meetings and then sexually assaulted them.
“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” said prosecutor Paul Thompson. “You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence about the nature of this man and what he did to these women.”
Weinstein’s attorneys said the allegations against their client were either fabricated or arose consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer.
They emphasized that there was no evidence of assault, with defense attorney Alan Jackson calling the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”
Weinstein, 70, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after being convicted of other rapes in that state.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Los Angeles case early next year. However, whatever sentence is handed down, Weinstein must first complete his current prison sentence in New York before being transferred to California.
More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of rape, sexual assault or sexual misconduct since 2017.
Source : aa
