LOS ANGELES (AP) — Most judges in Harvey Weinstein’s trial in Los Angeles were prepared to convict him of crimes related to three of the four women he was charged with rape or sexual assault.
Yet after weeks of deliberation, the eight men and four women voted unanimously to convict him crimes against one: a model and actor of Russian origin known as Jane Doe 1. She was living in Rome and traveling to California for a film festival aged 34 in 2013, when she said the now-disgraced movie mogul appeared without it being invited to the door of his hotel room in Los Angeles in the middle of the night. .
The lawyers were relieved of their duties and allowed to speak publicly after more than two months on Tuesday, when they could not reach a unanimous decision on two aggravating factors which could have justified a heavier sentence. Their deliberations lasted nine days spanning more than two weeks, but those who spoke to reporters said the talks were never contentious.
Weinstein was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against Jane Doe 1. He now faces up to 18 years in California prison to go with a 23-year sentence for a rape conviction and sexual assault in New York.
Jurors said Jane Doe 1’s calmness and failure to contact Weinstein after he raped her helped the divided group reach consensus on his charges.
“I thought Jane Doe 1 was very compelling in her story,” said one juror, a 62-year-old who works in banking and provided only his first name, Michael, as he sought to maintain confidentiality at the middle of the publicity surrounding the case. . .
physical and technical evidence surrounding Jane Doe 1 was one of the slimmest at trial, but jurors were told that under the law, if they found an accuser’s story credible, that alone could be enough to convict him.
They acquitted Weinstein of the count of sex drums against a massage therapist. They were deadlocked, with 10 of 12 voting guilty, on one count of sexual assault against the model Lauren Young; and voting 8 to 4 in favor of a conviction for rape and sexual assault involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, documentary filmmaker and wife of the Governor of California. Gavin Newsom.
Jane Doe 1 alone among them who no longer had direct relations with Weinstein or his representatives after the incident. She testified that she barely knew who he was, having only been introduced briefly at the film festival, and that she wanted nothing from him. Others, including Siebel Newsom, had friendly email exchanges with Weinstein or sought future meetings after their incidents, a point the defense hammered home in their cross-examinations and closing arguments.
This resonated with some jurors.
Michael said he voted to convict the Jane Doe 1 counts, but reluctantly voted to acquit the counts involving Siebel Newsom. The difference, he said, was the “later action” of the women.
“In a period of 2 and a half years, she had sent Mr. Weinstein over 35 emails,” he said of Siebel Newsom. She wanted access to Harvey Weinstein. It sounded like she wanted have access to a lot of its resources. This raised a reasonable doubt in my mind.
Weinstein has repeatedly denied having nonconsensual sex. His lawyers called some of the encounters in the charges consensual and others downright fabricated, including the story told by Jane Doe 1. They pointed out that prosecutors had not even produced independent evidence to place Weinstein in his hotel.
Jane Doe 1 lies. Period,” Weinstein’s attorney, Alan Jackson, said in his pleading.
A lawyer suggested that the general statement was undermined by defense arguments that focused on the details of the Jane Doe 1 story.
“I think Jackson’s last comment where Harvey just wasn’t there hurt him,” said juror Arnold Esqueda, who works as director of security for the water department and Los Angeles Electric. “They were defending all these things and then they just say he’s not here. Well, they should have said he wasn’t there.
He said he and other judges made that point to a “very old school” jury member who “decided he was going to vote guilty for that one.” He remained essentially not guilty on the rest.
Although sometimes tearful, Jane Doe 1’s testimony was sober and simple compared to some that followed. She spoke slowly with a Russian accent and barely used a translator at hand.
Esqueda said intensely moving testimony of Siebel Newsom, who sometimes screamed through tears during his testimony, might have been too much for some fellow jurors. The panel was split 6-6 on the charges against her when it suggested getting a reread of her testimony by the court reporter.
“She had a little drama,” Esqueda said. “So I suggested reading it again, and I think after reading it, it changed a few people in its favor, minus the drama.”
Changes over time in the massage therapist’s story helped jurors acquit that count, Michael said.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who have said they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly or gave consent through their lawyers, as Young and Siebel did. Newsom.
Judge Lisa Lynch has tentatively scheduled Weinstein’s sentencing for January 1. 9 after his lawyers demanded that it be done quickly.
But Lynch said that may not happen so quickly given the issues surrounding the case, including prosecutors’ pending decision on whether or not to try the stalled charges again.
“First and foremost we will have to consult with the victims,” Assistant District Attorney Paul Thompson said.
He asked the judge if other accusers of Weinstein, including some who were tested against him at trial but were not part of the charges, and the women whose charges were dead, could give victim impact statements. during sentencing.
Lynch quickly dismissed the idea.
“I’m not going to make this an open forum on all of the allegations that have been presented in this lawsuit,” she said.
“So it’ll just be Jane Doe 1 then,” Thompson replied.
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Follow AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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To learn more about the Harvey Weinstein trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/harvey-weinstein
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