Harvey Weinstein leaves a Manhattan courthouse during his rape trial, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A look at the charges against Harvey Weinstein, 67, and the punishment the once-revered Hollywood titan could face if convicted. A jury of seven men and five women started deliberating Tuesday in the closely watched #MeToo trial. To convict or acquit Weinstein on any charge, their verdict must be unanimous.
WHAT IS WEINSTEIN ACCUSED OF?
Scores of women have come forward in recent years to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, but his New York City trial stems from just three allegations.
The “Pulp Fiction” producer is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on another woman, TV and film production assistant Mimi Haleyi, at his apartment in July 2006.
The most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, requires jurors to decide two things: if he raped actress Annabella Sciorra in the mid-1990s and if he committed one of the charged acts.
(The Associated Press has a policy of not publishing the names of people who allege sexual assault without their consent. It is withholding the name of the rape accuser because it isn’t clear whether she wishes to be identified publicly.)
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST WEINSTEIN?
One count each of first- and third-degree rape for the March 2013 allegation. The first-degree charge alleges Weinstein used physical force or an implied or expressed threat that led the alleged victim to fear immediate death or injury. The third-degree charge alleges only that there was a lack of consent.
One count of criminal sex act for Haleyi’s forced oral sex allegation.
Two counts of predatory sexual assault, one for each of the charged acts.
HOW DOES THE PREDATORY SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGE WORK?
Under New York law, one way a person can be found guilty of predatory sexual assault is if he or she committed certain sex offenses in the past, even if that conduct didn’t result in criminal charges.
In Weinstein’s case, prosecutors allege that he raped Sciorra in late 1993 or early 1994 — an accusation that is too old to be the basis for criminal charges on its own because of the statute of limitations.
DOES THE JURY HAVE TO REACH A VERDICT ON ALL CHARGES?
No. Weinstein is charged with five counts, but the way the verdict form is designed, jurors won’t have to make a decision on all of them.
The form instructs the jury to start by reaching a verdict on the predatory sexual assault counts, which encompass the other charged acts. Depending on what they decide on those counts, they can move onto or skip other charges.
For example, if jurors find Weinstein guilty of the predatory sexual assault count alleging he both raped Sciorra and assaulted Haleyi, then the jury does not need to decide the criminal sex act charge involving Haleyi.
If the jury finds Weinstein guilty of the second predatory sexual assault count, alleging that he both raped Sciorra and raped the woman in 2013, then the jury does not need to decide the standalone rape charges involving the woman.
If the jury decides Weinstein didn’t rape Sciorra, then it can’t find Weinstein guilty of either predatory sexual assault count.
If jurors acquit Weinstein of the second predatory sexual assault count because they don’t feel it was a first-degree rape, they can still consider a third-degree rape charge involving the woman.
WHAT IS WEINSTEIN’S DEFENSE?
Weinstein maintains the encounters were consensual. His lawyer said that the allegations are “regret renamed as rape.” The defense grilled Haleyi and the 2013 accuser about meetings they had with Weinstein after the alleged assaults and highlighted friendly, flirtatious emails they sent him.
HOW MUCH TIME COULD HE FACE?
Each of the predatory sexual assault counts is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
The first-degree rape and criminal sex act counts each carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Third-degree rape carries a maximum sentence of 4 years in prison.
WHAT’S THE WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR WEINSTEIN?
He’s convicted of predatory sexual assault. Even if the jury finds him guilty on just one of those top-level counts, a minimum sentence would keep him in prison until he’s in his early 90s.
WOULD HE HAVE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER?
Yes. If Weinstein is convicted on any of the charges he would be required to register as a sex offender under New York’s version of what’s known as Megan’s Law.
WOULD WEINSTEIN BE HAULED OFF IN HANDCUFFS RIGHT AWAY?
If Weinstein is convicted on any of the charges, there’s a good chance his bail will be revoked and he’ll be taken to jail right away. Prosecutors could argue he’ll have extra incentive to flee and that he’s rich enough to do it. Even before the trial, prosecutors say he was showing signs of restlessness. A judge hiked his bail in December after prosecutors accused him of futzing with his electronic monitoring bracelet.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR WEINSTEIN?
Win or lose, Weinstein faces more criminal charges in a California case announced last month, just as his New York trial was getting underway. In that matter, Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulted one woman and raping another on back-to-back nights days before the Oscars in February 2013.
