….Weinstein to appeal ruling

Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of sexual assault and rape but cleared of the most serious predatory sexual assault charges.

The jury of seven men and five women found the producer guilty of criminal sexual acts in the first degree and rape in the third degree, a partial victory for the #MeToo movement that considered the case a watershed moment.

The 67-year-old was found not guilty however of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault charges that could have seen him jailed for life.

The verdict marks the most high-profile sex assault conviction in the United States since Bill Cosby was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years ago.

The decision was announced in a packed New York courtroom where some 100 people had gathered. The defendant, who attended the trial hunched over a walker, was shielded from view by police officers.

More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct since allegations against him ignited the #MeToo global reckoning against men abusing positions of power in October 2017.

But the jury was considering charges related to just two: ex-actress Jessica Mann and former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, with many claims too old to prosecute.

One of the predatory sexual assault charges also included testimony from the Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein raped her in her New York apartment in the winter of 1993-94.

Six women took the stand from the opening of testimony on January 22, to say they had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

Weinstein’s team subjected the women to ferocious cross-examination, as they argued that his relationships were consensual and transactional.

The prosecution presented no forensic evidence or third-party witness accounts. The state’s case rested on asking the jury to believe the women.

Harvey Weinstein will appeal convictions, says Defence attorney

Harvey Weinstein will appeal his convictions on charges of sexual assault and rape, his lead attorney Donna Rotunno told reporters following Monday’s guilty verdicts in New York.

“We absolutely will be appealing. The fight is not over,” she said after a jury of 12 found Weinstein guilty of sexual assault and rape but acquitted him on the most serious predatory charges.

“Harvey’s unbelievably strong. He took it like a man. And he knows that we will continue to fight for him and we know that this is not over,” Rotunno added.

Weinstein, 67, was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and of raping ex-actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

READ ALSO: Harvey Weinstein found guilty of sexual assault, rape

He was cleared of predatory sexual assault charges, which required the jury to believe “The Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra’s allegation that Weinstein raped her almost 30 years ago.

Rotunno suggested intense media coverage had worked against the disgraced movie mogul.

“The jurors came in knowing everything that they could know about this case. We couldn’t find a juror that had never heard of Harvey Weinstein,” said Rotunno.

“I thank all of you for starting to become fairer as time went on and I think that once everybody looked at the evidence it’s fairly clear that we were on the right side,” she added.

(AFP)