A Manhattan jury on Wednesday found disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty on one of three sex crime charges in a retrial that has been marked by internal jury conflicts and heated deliberations.
The 73-year-old former mogul was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006, but was acquitted of another charge and remains awaiting a verdict on a third.
Weinstein, once a towering figure in the film industry and co-founder of Miramax, was previously convicted in 2020 of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann and assaulting Haley. That conviction, hailed as a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement, was overturned in April 2024 by New York’s highest court, which ruled that the trial judge had erred by allowing testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the official charges.
The retrial, which began on April 23, revisited key accusations against Weinstein, who maintains that all encounters were consensual. In addition to the charge involving Haley, the jury acquitted Weinstein of a count related to the alleged assault of Kaja Sokola in 2002, when she was 16. Jurors have not yet reached a verdict on the remaining charge — the alleged 2013 rape of Jessica Mann — and are expected to resume deliberations on Thursday.
Despite the partial verdict, Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison upon sentencing. He is already serving a 16-year sentence from a separate 2022 conviction in California, which he is currently appealing.
Deliberations in the New York retrial have been far from smooth. On the fifth day of jury discussions, tensions reached a boiling point. Justice Curtis Farber disclosed that “fighting” had broken out among the 12 jurors, including one instance in which a juror was reportedly threatened by another who said, “I’ll meet you outside one day.”
“Juror One has made it very clear that he is not going to change his position,” Farber stated, as Weinstein’s defence requested a mistrial in light of the discord. Just as the court prepared to adjourn for the day, the jury submitted a note indicating they had reached a partial verdict.
The prosecution, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who leveraged his influence in Hollywood to lure women into situations where he assaulted them. In closing arguments on June 3, prosecutors argued the case showed a clear pattern of abuse disguised as professional opportunity.
Weinstein’s defence team countered that the relationships in question were consensual and “mutually beneficial,” asserting that the accusers fabricated allegations out of bitterness when their careers did not flourish as expected.
Since accusations against Weinstein first surfaced in 2017, over 100 women — including several high-profile actresses — have come forward with claims of sexual misconduct. These allegations triggered a global reckoning around sexual abuse and power dynamics in the workplace, fuelling the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein, who has experienced multiple health crises while in custody, attended the retrial in a wheelchair. He remains incarcerated at Rikers Island, where he has previously undergone emergency heart surgery.
Though the retrial is not yet concluded, Wednesday’s partial verdict reinforces the long-standing allegations against one of Hollywood’s most powerful — and now, most disgraced — figures.
Melissa Enoch
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