By Canadian Press

The Latest: Sciorra: Testimony against Weinstein was needed

Feb 26, 2020 | 9:54 AM

NEW YORK — The Latest on a verdict in the rape and sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein (all times local):

5:40 p.m.

Actress Annabella Sciorra, who accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in the 1990s, said Monday that her testimony against him at his New York City trial was “painful but necessary.”

Sciorra released a statement after Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in 2006 and raping another in 2013. He was acquitted, however, of two counts of predatory sexual assault that hinged on Sciorra’s testimony.

“I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart,” the “Sopranos” actress said hours after the verdict was announced.

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She added: “For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women.”

The jury found Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape for an assault on an aspiring actress in 2013 and of a criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006.

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1:30 p.m.

Harvey Weinstein’s legal team vowed Monday to appeal his conviction.

Defence attorney Arthur Aidala spoke briefly after the jury convicted Weinstein of rape and sexual assault.

“As sure as I’m a bald man, we will be appealing,” he said.

Weinstein is “disappointed” with the verdict, but he is “mentally tough,” defence attorney Donna Rotunno said.

“Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” she said outside the courthouse.

Weinstein was immediately taken into custody and was led out of the court in handcuffs.

Aidala said Weinstein will be going to “more of a hospital than a jail” after the judge granted the defence’s request to give him medical attention. His lawyers say Weinstein had an unsuccessful back surgery recently.

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12:35 p.m.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance praised the women who came forward and “changed the course of history” by sharing their allegations that led to the conviction of Harvey Weinstein.

He commended the women who testified against Weinstein at his New York City trial that “pulled our criminal justice system into the 21st century by declaring rape is rape and sexual assault is sexual assault no matter what.”

Vance spoke outside the courthouse Monday shortly after a jury convicted Weinstein of rape and sexual assault. The jury found him not guilty of the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, which could have resulted in a life sentence.

Weinstein was immediately handcuffed and transported to jail following his conviction.

Vance called Weinstein a “vicious, serial sexual predator.”

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12:20 p.m.

Harvey Weinstein was hauled out a side door of the courtroom with his hands cuffed in front of him after he was convicted Monday of rape and sexual assault.

The Hollywood mogul had been using a walker to get in and out of court during his trial in Manhattan. After he was convicted and ordered to jail immediately, court officers held him up by his arms to help him along as they led him out.

Weinstein lawyer Donna Rotunno had argued that recent back surgery was not successful and that her client needed more medical attention.

Judge James Burke said he would make a judicial request for Weinstein to be put in an infirmary.

Sentencing was set for March 11.

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11:55 a.m.

Harvey Weinstein had a look of resignation on his face as he was convicted at trial Monday of forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006 and of third-degree rape in 2013.

The jury found him not guilty of the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, which could have resulted in a life sentence.

The once-powerful Hollywood mogul stared straight ahead as the verdicts were read in court in Manhattan.

As the jury was taken back behind closed doors, Weinstein continued to sit at the defence table, with several court officers standing close by. He then began talking to his lawyers.

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11:40 a.m.

Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday at his sexual assault trial, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.

The verdict followed weeks of often harrowing and excruciatingly graphic testimony from a string of accusers who told of rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and that’s-Hollywood excuses from Weinstein about how the casting couch works.

The conviction was seen as a long-overdue reckoning for Weinstein after years of whispers about his behaviour turned into a torrent of accusations in 2017 that destroyed his career and gave rise to #MeToo, the global movement to encourage women to come forward and hold powerful men accountable for their sexual misconduct.

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11:35 a.m.

The jury says it has reached a verdict Monday in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in New York City.

The jury has been deliberating the rape and sexual assault charges against the once-powerful movie mogul for five days.

Weinstein has said any sexual encounters were consensual.

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9:40 a.m.

Jurors at Harvey Weinstein’s New York City rape trial are set to resume deliberations Monday after signalling they are at odds on the top charges in the closely watched #MeToo case.

The jury sent a note to Judge James Burke at the end of a fourth day of deliberations on Friday, asking if it was permissible for the panel to be hung on one or both counts of predatory sexual assault against the disgraced movie mogul while reaching a unanimous verdict on lesser charges.

The judge responded by ordering the jury to keep deliberating and try to reach a unanimous decision. The query sparked speculation that the trial could end with a partial verdict, but Burke has not addressed that.

The Associated Press