Jury finds former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape

Weinstein had become the face of the #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago

Harvey Weinstein, once a film colossus who wielded immense power in Hollywood, was found guilty Monday of raping and sexually assaulting an actress in 2013, but jurors found him not guilty of one charge and could not decide on three other counts.

The verdict, delivered by jurors in Los Angeles, was the second sex crimes conviction for Weinstein, 70, who was found guilty nearly three years ago of sexual assault and rape in New York. It served as a backstop for keeping Weinstein in prison, given that New York’s highest court has agreed to review his conviction there.

Because of some of the complicated dynamics of the verdict and the state’s sentencing laws, Weinstein faces the possibility of 18 to 24 years behind bars in California — not a maximum of life in prison. He would serve that time after completing his sentence in New York, where he still has 21 years left in prison unless his appeal is successful.

Read | 'I was in shock': Woman sexually assaulted by Weinstein in 1991 and 2008

Weinstein faced seven counts in Los Angeles — two of rape and five of sexual assault — stemming from incidents involving four women from 2004 to 2013. Jurors deliberated for more than nine days, and the length of their discussions reflected the difficulty they had in reaching unanimity on some charges. They agreed that Weinstein was guilty of three counts — rape, forcible oral sex and sexual penetration — involving an Italian actress who testified that he attacked her in a hotel room in 2013.

They also acquitted Weinstein of one count of sexual battery involving a massage therapist.

But the jurors could not decide on two counts related to accusations made by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, nor could they agree on one count stemming from Lauren Young, a model and screenwriter who said she was assaulted by Weinstein in his hotel room.

Read | Harvey Weinstein used Hollywood power to rape, court told

Prosecutors will now have to decide whether to retry the three counts on which the jury was deadlocked.

The mixed verdict followed weeks of tearful, often graphic testimony by the four accusers, and by four other women who were allowed under state law to testify about similar experiences they said they had with Weinstein in order to establish a pattern of behavior. A fifth accuser dropped out of the case.

Weinstein was the face of the #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago.