NEW YORK CITY — Jurors on Monday found movie mogul Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape but not the higher charges of predatory sexual assault, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Weinstein, 67, faces between five and 25 years in prison after jurors in Manhattan Criminal Court found Weinstein guilty of raping an actress in a midtown hotel in 2013 and sexually assaulting former production assistant at his Manhattan apartment in 2006, District Attorney Cyrus Vance said.
“These survivors weren’t just brave, they were heroic,” Vance said. “This is a big day, this is a new day.”
Weinstein was handcuffed and led away after Judge James Burke ordered him taken to jail immediately.
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Jurors did not convict Weinstein on the highest charges he faced, predatory sexual assault charges. Those charges hinged in part on the testimony of “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra — who accused Weinstein of attacking her in 1993 or 1994 — and which prosecutors hoped would prove a pattern of behavior.
But the jury delivered a note Friday asking Burke if it could issue a unanimous verdict on all charges except those of predatory sexual assault — suggesting that it grappled with Sciorra’s testimony.
Vance said he was not disappointed at the split verdict and did not link the decision to Sciorra’s testimony.
“I’m certainly not dissatisfied by the verdict,” Vance told reporters. “By no means is it a statement against Ms. Sciorra.”
The Hollywood producer was first booked on rape charges in March 2018, about five months after the New York Times and New Yorker released ground-breaking reports detailing years of sexual misconduct accusations made by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Weinstein now faces charges in Los Angeles on allegations that he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another during Oscars week in 2013.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.