Harvey Weinstein found guilty of third-degree rape, criminal sex act
Disgraced movie mogul acquitted on most serious charge, predatory sexual assault; Held without bail
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sex act and third-degree rape in a New York trial Monday.
Weinstein, who could face decades in prison, was hunched over in his seat as the jury found him not guilty on the most serious charges, predatory sexual assault, that could have resulted in a life sentence. He was also acquitted of first-degree rape.
In this courtroom sketch, Harvey Weinstein is led out of Manhattan Supreme Court by court officers after a jury convicted him of rape and sexual assault, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
The jurors made their decision on the fifth day of deliberation, which began last Tuesday.
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Shortly after the conviction was handed down, the judge remanded Weinstein into custody until his sentencing on March 11. Court officers led him out of the courtroom in handcuffs shortly after the verdict was read.
His lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, has already said they plan to appeal.
Weinstein, 67, was charged with five counts stemming from the allegations of "Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra and two other women.
Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse Monday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sciorra's account that he raped and sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s was the basis for two counts of predatory sexual assault, a charge that carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Aspiring actress Jessica Mann said he raped her in March 2013, and a former film and TV production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, said he forcibly performed oral sex on her in March 2006.
The conviction for the sexual assault of Haleyi could carry a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Jessica Mann (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images); Mimi Haleyi (Associated Press)
After nearly four days of deliberating, the jury notified the judge on Friday afternoon that members were unanimous on all counts except the two that could have put him behind bars for life.
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At least 100 women have reportedly accused Weinstein of a variety of sexual misconduct.
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Actress Ashley Judd, photo taken on April 30, 2018. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
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The former filmmaker could now end up on Rikers Island, one of the most notorious corrections complexes in the country, while he awaits sentencing.
Rikers is one of the world's biggest jails and is located in the East River between the Bronx and Queens, New York. It also houses a medical facility, which will likely be needed based on Weinstein's health conditions.
He could also end up in one of the Big Apple's multiple other Department of Correction facilities, such as the Manhattan Detention Complex, which connected to the courthouse where Weinstein stood trial.
Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse Monday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The New York City Department of Correction will make the final decision.
In a statement provided to reporters, Silence Breakers, the group of women who have accused Weinstein, thanked the courageous women for speaking out.
"While it is disappointing that today's outcome does not deliver the true, full justice that so many women deserve, Harvey Weinstein will now forever be known as a convicted serial predator," the statement reads. "As we have said from our very first statement together as Silence Breakers: we refuse to be silenced and will continue to speak out until this unrepentant abuser is brought to justice."
In closing arguments, prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a figure so powerful he was able to get away with denigrating aspiring actresses drawn into a world where he considered them "complete disposables."
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“To the defendant, it has been said he was the master of his universe and the witnesses here were merely ants that he could step on without consequences,” lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the court at the time, according to multiple reports. “The universe is run by me, and therefore, they don't get to complain when they are stepped on, spit on, demoralized and, yes, raped and abused by me — the king," she added, mimicking Weinstein.
In this courtroom drawing, Weinstein, center, sits at the defense table surrounded by his attorneys Friday at Manhattan Supreme Court in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
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Meanwhile, Rotunno argued that prosecutors "failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt," according to Page Six.
"On behalf of Mr. Weinstein, we are imploring you to have the courage to tell them that by saying 'not guilty' on all counts," she said.
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Rotunno said prosecutors fed the panel "a sinister tale" to detract from their lack of evidence to prove Weinstein's charges.
"Their story created a universe where adult women have no autonomy and responsibility," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "Women are not responsible for parties they attend, for choices they make to further their own career ... for sitting at their computers for sending emails to someone across the country."
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Weinstein must also appear before a judge in California, where he was charged in January with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint.
The charges are connected to two separate instances that occurred over the course of as many days in 2013, according to a press release by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
On Feb. 18 of that year, he is accused of forcing himself into an unidentified female victim's hotel room and raping her. The next day, he allegedly sexually assaulted a different woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room.
L.A. prosecutors are seeking $5 million bail, but his arraignment date has not been announced pending the conclusion of the New York trial.
FOX News' Marta Dhanis, Maria Paronich and The Associated Press and contributed to this report,