A California appeals court on Friday upheld Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 sentence on rape and sexual assault charges, but vacated a 16-year prison sentence and ordered the trial judge to resentence him.
“The conviction has been vacated and the case has been remanded for resentencing,” an online update posted by the California Second District Court of Appeal said. “In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed.”
The three-judge panel issued a unanimous decision, saying that Weinstein’s trial judge did not violate his constitutional rights.
“We reject their efforts to upset the jury’s guilty verdicts,” the judges wrote.
Weinstein will appeal the conviction and sentence
The panel called for re-sentencing because a lower court judge had considered a conviction in New York that was later dismissed as an aggravating factor in determining how long he should remain in prison. The California Attorney General agreed.
A spokesman for Weinstein, now 74, said his team disagrees with the court’s decision to uphold the guilty verdicts against the Italian model and actor for one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault and will appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court.
“We are disappointed by today’s decision and respectfully disagree with the appeals court’s findings regarding the fairness of Mr. Weinstein’s trial,” Judah Engelmayer said in an email to the AP news agency. “This is not the end of the appellate process.”
No additional testing in New York
The California decision came a day after prosecutors in New York decided Weinstein would not face a fourth trial there, ending the #MeToo-era case after the accuser said she was unable to testify again in the fourth trial.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said Thursday that after a trial before two grand juries and three trial juries, the accuser did not want to take the stand again.
After years of rumors regarding Weinstein, investigation by The New Yorker magazine the new York Times The newspaper revealed a series of allegations from more than 80 people about his abusive behaviour.
Weinstein has denied all the allegations against him.
Catalyst for the #MeToo movement
But the uproar about his alleged misconduct grew into the global Me Too movement and rocked the entertainment world, with many men being held accountable for abusing their positions to exploit young women.
Although that trial will not proceed, Weinstein will remain behind bars awaiting sentencing in another New York case in which he was convicted of a sex crime. Sentencing is expected in September and prosecutors will seek a 20-year prison sentence.
He will serve his new California sentence only after his New York term is completed. However, Weinstein’s legal team has said it intends to appeal Friday’s decision to the California Appeals Court.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
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