Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years behind bars after he was convicted of the 2013 rape and sexual assault of a victim known as Jane Doe 1 in a Los Angeles trial. The 70-year-old is already serving more than 20 years behind bars for a separate trial in New York. His new sentence will be served concurrently.
During the sentencing hearing, Weinstein protested his innocence to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B Lench and asked for leniency. “I maintain that I’m innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1,” he told her, per ABC News.
The Italian actor and model Weinstein was convicted of raping was in the courtroom as the sentence was announced. She’s said to have broken down in floods of tears as her abuser spoke.
“Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God,” she told the courtroom in her victim impact statement. “There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.”
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers had filed for a new trial in the charges stemming from Jane Doe 1. However, Judge Lench rejected the motion and instead swiftly handed down sentencing. All things considered, 16 years is far less than he could have received. The jury did acquit him of sexual battery of a massage therapist. They also failed to come to a verdict on counts involving two other victims.
