The Los Angeles prosecution in Harvey Weinstein’s latest rape trial has decided not to retry charges against the film producer.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson announced the decision to Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench at a hearing in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday. The judge originally dismissed the rape and sexual assault charges involving two women that left a jury deadlocked in December.
The jury did, however, convict Weinstein, 70, on rape and sexual assault of an Italian model and actor at the time. Sixteen years were added to the 23-year prison sentence he was already serving for similar charges in New York.
Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on some, but not all, charges during the Los Angeles trial. (Spencer Platt)
HARVEY WEINSTEIN APPEALS NEW YORK RAPE CONVICTION, REQUESTS NEW TRIAL
Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles. The disgraced movie mogul was already serving 23 years for his conviction in New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Jurors could not reach unanimous verdicts on charges involving two accusers, a rape count and a sexual assault count involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and a sexual battery count against model Lauren Young.
The prosecutor explained Tuesday that retrying Weinstein on the dismissed charges would likely only add one year to his prison sentence if he were convicted.
“We respect the prosecution’s decision to not retry Harvey Weinstein on the charges relating to the claims of my client, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom,” Elizabeth Fegan, Newsom’s lawyer, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“The First Partner’s primary intention in coming forward was to ensure that Weinstein spends the rest of his life in prison. While the jury could not reach a verdict on the charges relating to her experience, we believe that her testimony, in chorus with the other brave victims’ testimonies, led to Weinstein’s conviction and the 16-year sentence he faces in California after he serves his New York sentence.
The statement continued: “Had the court not handed down a fitting sentence, my client would have been ready to support the prosecutors if they opted to retry Weinstein, even considering the enormous emotional toll it would inflict on her.”
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Weinstein’s representative, Juda Engelmayer, noted that the prosecution’s decision is an “important step” in the defense’s appeal process.
“It’s an important step towards Harvey Weinstein’s appeal in LA,” Engelmayer told Fox News Digital. “Now, he and his team can focus on JD No. 1’s claims alone, of which there is ample support and proof that corroborates Harvey’s claims that it never happened, and he didn’t know or meet this person, including a polygraph test conducted by a world-class examiner. Harvey will be focusing on the difficult task ahead of finally clearing his name.”
Weinstein is still in the process of appealing his 2020 conviction in New York.
He lost his first appeal. The ruling, issued by a five-judge panel in New York’s intermediate state appeals court, rejected the former film producer’s claims that the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced him by allowing women to testify about allegations that were not part of the criminal case.
On Jan. 10, Weinstein’s legal team filed another appeal and requested a new trial.
His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, claimed Weinstein didn’t receive a “fair trial” at the time due to “legally insufficient charges” and an impartial jury.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS IN PRISON FOR RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT IN LA CASE
Allegations against Weinstein, the once powerful and feared studio boss behind such Oscar winners as “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” ushered in the #MeToo movement, a cultural reckoning on sexual misconduct in the entertainment, news and other industries.
Weinstein’s New York trial drew intense publicity, with reporters packing the courtroom and cameras lined up outside to capture images of the one-time studio boss shuffling in and out of court. Protesters chanted “rapist” outside the courthouse.
Weinstein has maintained his innocence throughout the two trials and has emphasized that any sexual acts were consensual.
Weinstein’s lawyers are demanding a new trial, arguing in court documents that the fallen movie mogul deserves a fair trial. (Richard Drew)
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
