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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