Former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape Monday in a Los Angeles court docket.
Weinstein was discovered responsible on three of seven fees, together with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a international object, in keeping with a number of news retailers.
Jurors deliberated for almost two weeks earlier than returning the responsible verdicts primarily based on experiences of an unnamed girl who stated she was raped by Weinstein in a Beverly Hills lodge room in 2013.
Prosecutors stated he used his Hollywood affect to lure aspiring actresses into personal conferences after which sexually assaulted them.
“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” stated prosecutor Paul Thompson. “You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence about the nature of this man and what he did to these women.”
Weinstein’s attorneys stated the allegations towards their consumer had been both fabricated or arose consensually as a part of a “transactional relationship” with the film producer.
They emphasised that there was no proof of assault, with protection lawyer Alan Jackson calling the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”
Weinstein, 70, is already serving a 23-year jail sentence in New York after being convicted of different rapes in that state.
He is scheduled to be sentenced within the Los Angeles case early subsequent 12 months. However, no matter sentence is handed down, Weinstein should first full his present jail sentence in New York earlier than being transferred to California.
More than 100 girls have accused Weinstein of rape, sexual assault or sexual misconduct since 2017.
