Shivalik
A New York court on Monday found fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein guilty of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, and rape in the third degree.
A New York Supreme Court jury of seven men and five women arrived at the decision after deliberating over the case for nearly 26 hours over five days, reports cnn.com. After the decision , a handcuffed Weinstein was taken into custody.
On the primary charge, the jury found Weinstein guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree for forcing oral-sex on former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. The guilty filmmaker could get a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison on this count, reported theguarardian.com. On the second charge, Weinstein was convicted of raping a lady during a New York hotel in 2013. He could get a maximum of 4 years on this count.
The Guardian website added that the 67-year-old former filmmaker was acquitted of three further charges, including the 2 most serious counts of predatory sexual abuse, which carried a possible life and another count of rape in the first degree.
During the trial, Weinstein's defence had tried raising the motion for a mistrial but had been denied by the jury.
The court has reserved the sentencing for a future date, said cnn.com, Weinstein's still has to take the stands for the hearing of charges against him of sexual abuse and rape in separate incidents in L.A.
In October 2017, as per reports in the NY Times and the New Yorker, several women came out and accused Weinstein of rape and sexual abuse over a minimum of three decades. The incident had a worldwide chain reaction, triggering off the MeToo movement.
Harvey Weinstein was once acclaimed for his contribution to the development of independent cinema in Hollywood, and for also backing relevant content-driven entertainers with Oscar-winning films like "Shakespeare In Love" and "Pulp Fiction". His film production companies were Miramax Films and the Weinstein Company.
