Harvey Weinstein rape conviction sentencing delayed

Harvey Weinstein. Picture/AFP

Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's sentencing on his second rape and sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles has been delayed until February. Weinstein will be sentenced on three counts of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles on February 23, a judge said, Variety reported.

Weinstein, 70, faces up to 18 years in prison on the charges, in addition to the 23-year sentence he is already serving for his conviction in New York. His lawyers had initially asked that he be sentenced on Monday, but they asked for a delay last week to give them extra time to file a motion for a new trial.

Weinstein was convicted on December 19, 2022, of raping a model identified in court as Jane Doe 1. She is expected to give a "victim impact statement" at the sentencing hearing. The jurors deadlocked on three counts related to two other victims, and they acquitted him of a charge related to a fourth woman.

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The prosecution has yet to decide whether to retry Weinstein on the three counts that resulted in a hung jury. Outside court, prosecutor Paul Thompson said there is no timeline yet for such a decision. In a statement, according to Variety, Jane Doe thanked the prosecution for "believing in me and fighting so hard for all the victims, including me, in the trial.

"Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back," she said. "The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein's lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did... I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime," as per Variety. For the offences for which he was found guilty, including forceful rape, forcible oral copulation, and penetration by a foreign object, Weinstein could receive a sentence of up to 18 to 24 years in jail.

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