Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for charges of sexual assault and third-degree rape.
He will serve his sentence in a New York prison and will be registered as a sex offender. Weinstein spoke to the courtroom before his sentencing. He expressed regret for his actions, but ultimately condemned the #MeToo movement.
“I really feel remorse in this situation,” Weinstein said to the courtroom, as reported by Deadline. According to Variety, he continued, “I think men are confused about all of this…this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country.”
Deadline said the first two rows of the courtroom were filled with Weinstein’s accusers. Two of those women, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, were the primary accusers in the case, and both delivered statements to the judge before Weinstein’s sentencing.
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Haley accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in his apartment in 2006. “It scarred me deeply, mentally and emotionally,” Haley said at the sentencing, according to Variety. “What he did not only stripped me of my dignity as a human being and a woman, but it crushed my confidence.”
Mann accused Weinstein of raping her while she was in an abusive relationship with the producer. “I don’t know how to explain the horrors of being raped by someone who has power,” Mann said. “The impact on the psyche is profound. Rape is not just one moment…it is forever.”
The disgraced producer — sitting in a wheelchair — reportedly apologized to both women after they spoke. Prosecutors were asking for Weinstein to serve the maximum 29 years in prison while the defense was asking for 5 years. New York Justice James Burke ultimately settled with a 23 year sentence. Weinstein was being held at Riker’s Island but is now being transported to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Weinstein turned himself over to authorities in May 2018, which was just three months after his movie studio, The Weinstein Company, filed for bankruptcy. Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s biggest producers. His production company released multiple films a year and has produced movies including Quentin Tarantino’s films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Spy Kids franchise, the Scary Movie franchise and TV shows like Project Runway.
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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
Source: IGN.com Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison