CW: This article discusses sexual assault and rape.
Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on two accounts including a first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. He was acquitted of his other charges, including first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault. The trial which ended on Monday had been ongoing since Jan. 6.
The six-week-long trial was not nearly the beginning of the Weinstein case. In October 2017, New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published an article titled “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades.”
This article not only sparked the #MeToo movement, but it set off a chain of events leading to Weinstein’s eventual guilty verdict. Since the original article was published, over 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
While this trial took place in Manhattan, New York, Weinstein will face two more charges in an upcoming trial in Los Angeles, California. There, he could be sentenced to up to 28 years in prison if found guilty.
Weinstein’s sentencing will take place on March 11, where he may face up to 29 years in prison.
Weinstein, however, is dealing with numerous heart problems and was hospitalized shortly after his verdict was announced, according to his attorney Donna Rotunno (CNN).
Weinstein’s sentencing was an emotional day for many people, including the many others who have accused him of sexual harassment and assault. Actress Rose McGowan, who accuses Weinstein of raping her at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, states, “I haven’t exhaled in so long” (The New Yorker).
Ashley Judd, who was the first woman to go on record about Weinstein in Kantor and Twohey’s 2017 article, stated on Twitter, “For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you” (The New York Times).
Weinstein was sent to Bellevue Hospital shortly after his verdict was announced, as he was complaining of chest pain and high blood pressure. He was then sent to an infirmary at Rikers Island Prison Complex in New York, where he will remain until his sentencing.
