A New York court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes conviction in a stunning decision Thursday.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled following a 4-3 vote that testimony from “prior bad acts” witnesses should not have been allowed because it “was unnecessary to establish defendant’s intent and served only to establish defendant’s propensity to commit the crimes charged,” according to CNN.
In response, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Emily Tuttle said, “We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
Weinstein’s victims, known as the Silence Breakers, said in a statement to Variety that the reversal was “not only disheartening, but it’s profoundly unjust.”
Model Ambra Gutierrez, who accused Weinstein of groping her in 2015 and secretly recorded him in an NYPD operation, slammed the decision as an “ongoing failure of the justice system – and the courts.”
Meanwhile, the former Hollywood movie exec’s rep, Juda Engelmayer, said, “We are cautiously excited and need to study the ramifications of the appeal decision. We always said this was an unjust trial.”
His lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, added, “I believe this decision is larger than Harvey Weinstein. Courts cannot operate on emotion and lack of due process.
“The world is off-balance, and when the justice system does not work, nothing does,” Rotunno continued. “This decision restores faith in the foundation of our system.”
Weinstein, 72, was convicted in February 2020 of one count of rape in the third degree and one count of a criminal sex act in the first degree.
He was found guilty at the time for forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi and for an attack on hairstylist Jessica Mann.
However, even then, the verdict wasn’t a total win for prosecutors. Weinstein was found not guilty in that same trial relating to three other charges: two for predatory sexual assault, which carried a life sentence, and one for rape in the first degree for Mann.
During the harrowing trial, 28 emotional witnesses appeared in front of the jury, including six women who tearfully testified. However, it’s been reported that at least 80 women overall have come forward to accuse him of misconduct throughout his tenure in Hollywood.
During the New York trial, Haleyi, for her part, recalled when Weinstein allegedly held her down and forcibly performed oral sex on her on July 10, 2006.
However, his defense lawyer, Rotunno, reminded the jury in her closing remarks that Mann and Haleyi admitted on the stand that they had consensual sex with the mega-producer after the alleged attacks.
Weinstein was hit with a 23-year prison sentence for raping Mann and sexually abusing Haleyi.
Three years later, in February 2023, he was sentenced to another 16 years in prison following his trial in Los Angeles for the forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by foreign object of Jane Doe 1, an Italian model, at the Mr. C Hotel in the city in February 2013.
Weinstein said in a statement to Page Six at the time, “It is incredible to be convicted for a crime I wasn’t even present for. I am innocent.
“I never raped or assaulted anyone. This person perjured herself at least three times and then sued for money, when she said on the stand that she would ‘never.’ I was never with her.”
The many accusations levied against the Hollywood mogul behind hit films like “Pulp Fiction,” “Clerks” and “Shakespeare in Love” helped sparked a revolution in which several other victims of sexual abuse came forward to call out their respective abusers for the #MeToo movement.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
