Harvey Weinstein found guilty of 3rd degree rape, criminal sexual act,
Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein was ordered held behind
bars Monday until his sentencing March 11 — then handcuffed like any common
criminal and hauled off to jail.
A Manhattan jury had just returned two guilty verdicts — one
for rape and the other for criminal sex act — minutes earlier against the
once-powerful Hollywood mogul during Day 5 of deliberations in the high-profile
case.
Weinstein faces up to 29 years behind bars for his crimes.
The state sentences for his crimes carry a minimum of five years to a maximum
of 25 on the criminal sex act rap and from probation to four years for
Weinstein’s third-degree rape conviction. The judge must adhere to these
parameters when sentencing him.
Weinstein’s lead lawyer, Donna Rotunno claimed to Manhattan
Supreme Court Justice James Burke that Weinstein “has significant medical
issues” and that he is currently “under the care of five doctors.
“He takes a list of different medications. He’s currently
getting shots in the eyes so he does not go blind,” said Rotunno, who requested
that Weinstein, who has diabetes, be put in the North Infirmary Command on
Rikers Island.
Rotunno’s disgraced movie-mogul client has hobbled in and
out of the courthouse using a walker after he underwent spinal surgery in
December.
“He’s dealing with the remnants of his back operation, which
was not successful,” Rotunno said, adding, “As we believe, putting him in
custody at this point before he can get some of the issues taken care of …
would not only put Mr. Weinstein in danger, but the New York penal institution
also because they will have to care for him and be responsible for these
issues.”
Burke said that he “did not doubt the severity of medical
conditions” and said he will make a “judicial request” to jail authorities to
put Weinstein in the infirmary.
Afterward, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, whose
office prosecuted the former Tinseltown titan, touted the women who came
forward in accusing Weinstein of sex assault, saying they have “changed the
course of history.”
When asked whether he was satisfied with the verdict — which
found Weinstein not guilty on the top charges of predatory sexual assault —
Vance replied: “I’m certainly not dissatisfied by the verdict.”
“I think this was a very difficult case — a very challenging
case.”
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