Former Hollywood star producer Harvey Weinstein, convicted in June 2025 in New York of sexual assault against a former production assistant, must be sentenced on Wednesday, after eight years of legal twists and turns.
The New York State Attorney in Manhattan announced in June 2026 that he was recommending 20 years in prison for these acts, which carry a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.
This conviction comes almost ten years after the #MeToo wave, which became a wave with the Weinstein affair.
Aged 74, the man who now uses a wheelchair due to health problems continues to deny all the accusations against him, speaking of consensual sexual relations.
Indicted in 2018 in New York, the founder of Miramax Studios was first sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020 for having imposed cunnilingus on former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006, as well as for accusations of rape in 2013 on actress Jessica Mann.
An appeals court overturned that verdict in 2024 on procedural grounds and two new trials followed.
In June 2025, the producer of “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love” was again found guilty of the facts concerning Miriam Haley but acquitted of a similar alleged sexual assault on a Polish model, Kaja Sokola, the same year.
The jurors were also unable to reach an agreement regarding Jessica Mann. They remained divided on these facts during a third trial last May and the prosecution, in agreement with Ms. Mann, made the decision to drop the charges.
In a separate proceeding in California, an appeals court in June ordered a reassessment of the 16-year prison sentence that Harvey Weinstein is serving for the rape of model and actress Evgeniya Chernyshova in Los Angeles in 2013. The court, however, confirmed his guilt in this case.
Given his age and the extent of the sentences he faces, whether served concurrently or consecutively, Harvey Weinstein is expected to spend the rest of his days behind bars.
The former strongman of American cinema has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.
In October 2017, after years of reports suggesting that he used his influence to sexually assault young women, investigations by the New York Times and the New Yorker revealed the extent of the scandal.
The shock wave that followed helped make the #MeToo movement a global phenomenon, freeing the voices of victims of sexual violence in all four corners of the world.
