Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial has been declared a mistrial by judge
The rape retrial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein ended in a mistrial Friday after the jury deadlocked. This is the third trial in the New York rape case.
Weinstein, whose decades-long allegations of sexual assault shook the entertainment industry and inspired the #MeToo movement, has been convicted of other sex crimes in New York and Los Angeles and is incarcerated at a Rikers Island facility in Queens. According to the Associated Press, Weinstein appeared expressionless after the mistrial was announced and court officials escorted him away in his wheelchair.
A mostly male jury spent three days deliberating the rape charge against Weinstein. Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and aspiring actress, said the rape occurred at a DoubleTree hotel in Manhattan in 2013. Weinstein’s defense argued that the sexual relationship between Mann and Weinstein, then married, was consensual.
Weinstein was initially convicted of assaulting Mann in 2020, but that verdict, along with another charge, was overturned in April 2024. At a second trial in New York last summer, Weinstein was found guilty of forcing Miriam Haley to have oral sex and similarly acquitted regarding former model Kaja Sokola. The jury was hung on a third charge of rape by Mann.
On Friday, hours after the third day of deliberations, jurors sent Judge Curtis Farber a note saying they “concluded that they cannot reach” a unanimous verdict. Judge Farber asked the group to continue deliberations. The jurors returned to their closed-door discussions and emerged more than an hour later with another note saying, “We believe no one is going to change their position.” »
A hearing has been set for June 24 on whether prosecutors will participate in a fourth rape trial.
Marc Agnifilo, the high-profile criminal lawyer hired by Weinstein earlier this year and known for representing Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs, told the Times in an emailed statement: “We are confident that the prosecutor will not pursue a fourth trial on these patently unfounded allegations.” »
District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a statement that his office would consider next steps in “consultation with Ms. Mann and taking into account the pending sentencing of Harvey Weinstein following his conviction at trial last year for forcibly sexually assaulting Miriam Haley.”
“For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann fought for justice. Over the course of several weeks, during three separate trials, she relived incredibly painful experiences in front of complete strangers,” Bragg said. “Her perseverance and courage are an inspiration to the members of my office and, more importantly, to survivors everywhere. »
Mann told the Times in an emailed statement that Friday’s decision to declare a mistrial “does not take away from the truth I told and the violent crimes Harvey Weinstein committed against me and so many others.”
Mann said she chose to testify in three trials because she was telling the truth.
“For years, I had to relive some of the most difficult moments of my life while facing attempts to shame, humiliate and discredit me in open court,” Mann continued. “I held myself to the highest standards of transparency and accountability when I came forward in the justice system – choosing integrity even when the process flayed me.
“The power of predators remains too great. I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a common good: a world where predators do not have power.”
