Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday in Manhattan to 15 years in prison for felony sex crimes in another #MeToo reckoning.
Weinstein’s verdict for sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, a former television production assistant, came after more than six years of legal odyssey. His 2020 conviction was overturned by the New York Supreme Court. A second jury convicted Weinstein again in a retrial last year.
Once one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, Weinstein was an Oscar-winning producer behind such hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” But his fall from grace came quickly after sexual assault allegations in 2017 sparked the #MeToo movement.
Mr. Weinstein, 74, is expected to appeal the decision, insisting he never raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He is now likely to remain in prison into his 80s. Sitting in a wheelchair, he was moved outside the courtroom shortly after the verdict, and some of his accusers hugged each other and wiped away tears.
Both Mr. Weinstein and the victim spoke in court.
Weinstein was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting Haley in his Manhattan apartment in 2006. He has already spent more than six years in prison as his case progressed through the criminal justice system. Haley described the assault in two trials and addressed the court again on Wednesday.
“Being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein had a devastating impact on my life and sense of security, and it may never go away. My decision to speak out will leave me looking over my shoulder for years to come,” Haley said.
“It’s a life sentence for me,” she added.
Minutes later, Mr. Weinstein apologized, repeating his innocence.
“Reflecting on what has happened since 2017 has helped me realize how my past actions have negatively affected others. I live with many regrets and sincerely apologize to those I affected with my actions,” he said.
Some of his accusers in the courtroom shook their heads as he spoke.
Mr. Weinstein is the face of MeToo, judge says
Judge Curtis Farber said Mr. Weinstein was once the king of the movie world, “but the recognition for these accomplishments pales in comparison to Mr. Weinstein’s accomplishments.”
He said Weinstein is now known as “a sex offender, literally the face of the MeToo movement.”
The judge said Weinstein had treated the women as “mere objects to be toyed with and thrown away”, had yet to accept responsibility and had portrayed himself as a victim during interrogations in jail.
Ms Haley later said she was satisfied with the verdict, although it was clear Mr Weinstein did not approve of his actions. “I think he still feels entitled, and that’s part of the problem,” she says.
Ms. Haley’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, a prominent victims’ rights lawyer, rejected any suggestion that Weinstein’s verdict marks the end of the MeToo era.
“Women are empowered in a way never seen before,” she said.
Why Mr. Weinstein should be sentenced a second time
Weinstein was initially sentenced to 23 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of assaulting Hailey and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
Last year, he went to trial a second time and was again found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for assaulting Haley, who also went by the name Mimi Haley. In a mixed verdict, the jury found Mann not guilty of forcing another woman, Kaja Sokola, to perform oral sex on her, but could not reach a verdict on the rape charge involving Mann.
After another retrial in May ended with a hung jury, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the rape charge without holding a fourth trial because they said they could not stand Munn testifying again.
Defense attorneys asked for leniency due to Weinstein’s health problems
Defense attorney Jacob Kaplan asked for an additional three years in prison on top of the six years Weinstein already served, saying a longer sentence would increase the chance Weinstein would die in prison.
Weinstein has blood cancer, congestive heart failure and kidney problems and has been hospitalized six times since 2025, Kaplan said.
Mr. Weinstein is also awaiting sentencing in a separate rape case in Los Angeles. The California Court of Appeals upheld the 2022 conviction, but threw out the original 16-year sentence because the judge considered the New York conviction (which was later thrown out) as an aggravating factor.
Mr. Weinstein is being held in the inmate medical unit at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital after bouncing back and forth between state prison, where he tested positive for the coronavirus early in the pandemic, and New York City’s notorious Rikers Island complex.
Haley speaks out about the assault that led to Weinstein’s conviction
Haley, 49, is a former entertainment producer who now works in advertising.
She said she met Weinstein through a mutual connection and briefly worked as a production assistant on the reality competition show “Project Runway,” which he produced.
Ms. Haley accepted Mr. Weinstein’s invitation to his apartment, and after they chatted briefly, she testified that Mr. Weinstein lunged at her for a kiss. She said she turned him down, but he grabbed her, forced her back into the bedroom and sexually assaulted her, ignoring her pleas to stop.
She recalled Weinstein asking, “Don’t you think we’re closer now?” after she said she had unwanted but non-forced sex with him after or after the alleged assault.
She also recalled saying to him after their second encounter:
The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault without permission, but Haley, Sokola and Mann have done so.
