PanamaTimes

Sunday, Mar 01, 2026

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in jail over rape, sexual assault charges

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in jail over rape, sexual assault charges

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Last December, the disgraced movie producer was found guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration of a foreign object in relation to an unnamed woman.

The 70-year-old is currently serving a 23-year jail term in New York for other sexual assault and rape charges, after a 2020 conviction.

In a hearing today, a judge in LA handed him 16 years behind bars.

According to PA, Weinstein appeared in court in person for the hearing, pleading with the judge for ‘mercy’.

‘Your Honour … I maintain that I am innocent,’ he said, via the publication. ‘I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe One. I don’t know that woman and she doesn’t know me.

The trial in Los Angeles lasted around a month

‘This is a made-up story. With all due respect, Jane Doe One is an actress … Jane Doe One can turn on the tears.

‘Please don’t sentence me to life in prison, I don’t deserve it. I beg your mercy.’

PA reports that Jane Doe One shared a victim impact statement, in which she said that she was ‘broken into a million pieces’ over the assault.

‘I have been carrying this weight for 12 months,’ she reportedly began. ‘Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future.

Weinstein reportedly pleaded for mercy before the sentencing


‘Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me.

‘I became invisible to myself and to the world … I lost my identity.

‘It has broken me into a million pieces … there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.’

Four women brought the current case against the 70-year-old, with five sexual assault charges – including two counts of forcible rape.

The accusers were aspiring models at the time, and claimed the encounters occurred between 2004 and 2013 in LA County.

He was previously sentenced to spend 23 years behind bars in New York


They gave emotional testimonies in court, with Jane Doe One telling the jury that Weinstein allegedly showed up uninvited at her hotel room during a film festival in 2013, and assaulted her.

Although she hadn’t previously joined the dozens of women who had sued him for sexual harassment or assault, her testimony led to his second rape conviction.

The movie mogul was acquitted of one count of sexual battery, but the jury remained hung on one count of rape, one count of sexual battery by restraint and one count of forcible oral copulation.

Prosecutors originally called for the judge to hand him the maximum 24-year sentence, to run consecutively to his current term.

In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez said the ‘titan’ used his power to take advantage of women.

‘Rapists rape,’ fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson added. ‘You can look at the pattern.’

He pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, and has denied all allegations against him.

Weinstein’s conviction comes more than five years after reports first emerged of his behavior – which sparked the #MeToo movement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
Cuba adopts electric tricycles for transport amid fuel shortages
Cuba's fuel crisis leads to mounting waste in Havana
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Cuba Warns It Has Only Weeks of Oil Remaining as US Pressure Tightens
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Nancy Pelosi Finally Announces She Will Not Seek Re-Election, Signalling End of Long Congressional Career
Erling Haaland’s Remarkable Run: 13 Premier League Goals in 10 Matches and Eyes on History
White House Refutes Reports That US Targeting Military Sites in Venezuela
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Trump Accuses Colombia’s President of Drug-Leadership and Announces End to US Aid
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
FBI Strikes Deep in Maduro’s Financial Web with Bold Money-Laundering Indictments
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
New World Screwworm Creeps Within Seventy Miles of U.S. Border, Threatening Cattle Sector
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
In a highly politically motivated trial, Brazil’s Supreme Court finds former leader Bolsonaro guilty of plotting coup
×