A jury found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles on Monday.
The disgraced film producer, 70, was convicted of one count of forcible rape, one count of forced oral copulation and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object after the jury deliberated for 10 days, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office announced in a news release.
Weinstein, who is already serving a 23-year sentence after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020, could get up to 24 years for the new conviction against him. Members of the jury are scheduled to go back to court on Tuesday "to consider aggravating factors" of Weinstein's sentencing hearing, the D.A.'s office said.
Weinstein's guilty verdict concerned a woman identified as Jane Doe #1, according to Deadline. He was acquitted of the sexual battery charge relating to Jane Doe #2, and the jury was hung on the charges relating to Jane Doe #3 and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom, who publicly identified herself.
Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to the counts against him, ABC News reported.
He was on trial after he was accused of sexually assaulting four women from 2004 to 2013, per the outlet. Siebel Newsom alleged her encounter with Weinstein occurred in 2005 when she hoped to be an actress. Weinstein invited her to his hotel room and she obliged, per ABC News.
"I was so violated and I don't know how that happened," Siebel Newsom said during the trial, according to the outlet. "I didn't see the clues and I didn't know how to escape."
Her lawyer Beth Fegan also said, ABC News reported, "Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap. She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life's work to improve the lives of women. Please respect her choice to not discuss this matter outside of the courtroom."
In his news release, D.A. George Gascón saluted the accusers for their bravery.
"I want to thank the survivors in this case, who exhibited extraordinary bravery in a case that put them in the national spotlight," D.A. George Gascón said in the news briefing. "Reporting sexual assault is never easy. Subjecting oneself to at times brutal cross-examination can be retraumatizing and extraordinarily painful. I stand in awe of their fearlessness. They deserve better than what the system has given them."
Before expressing his disappointment "that the jury was split on some of the counts", Gascón praised the jurors for their time and efforts, adding that he "hope[s] its partial verdicts bring at least some measure of justice to the victims."
He also thanked the trial team and said he and his staff will decide if they will send Weinstein to trial for the hung jury counts.
