NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a TV production assistant in 2006, capping a yearslong legal odyssey that a judge said cemented the disgraced movie mogul's reputation as "the literal face of the #MeToo movement."
The landmark New York prosecution began nearly a decade ago with multiple accusers, but after retrials, mistrials, acquittals and appeals, it was whittled to a single victim: Miriam Haley, who said the Oscar-winning producer forcibly performed oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment. She had worked briefly on the Weinstein-produced reality series “Project Runway.”
Weinstein, 74, pleaded for mercy, citing his age and health issues, including cancer and congestive heart failure. He apologized “to anyone I have affected with my actions” and said he felt remorse for Haley. However, he added, “I have to reiterate my innocence.” His lawyers said he will appeal.
Once a towering figure in Hollywood, with such hits as "Shakespeare in Love," "Pulp Fiction" and "Chocolat," Weinstein's downfall came quickly after sexual assault allegations in 2017 set off the #MeToo movement. Several of his dozens of accusers were in court on Wednesday.
Judge Curtis Farber said Weinstein wielded his power as a Hollywood kingmaker to prey on women looking to break into the industry, treating them as “mere objects to be played with and discarded with impunity.”
Farber said Weinstein’s refusal to accept responsibility, portraying himself as a victim during jailhouse interviews, weighed heavily on his sentencing decision. Weinstein had faced up to 25 years in prison.
Some of Weinstein's accusers attended the sentencing
Haley credited the swell of other accusers, some of whom she hugged afterward, for giving her the courage to come forward.
For years, she said, “it was like a dark and painful secret that ate away at my spirit, my enthusiasm and sense of self worth, that it took a long time to regain.”
Jailed since his original conviction, Weinstein has already served more than six years behind bars, leaving him with about nine years on his sentence. But a pending resentencing in Los Angeles, where he was originally ordered to serve 16 years in prison for a 2013 rape, could put him away for the rest of his life.
Farber said it'll be his counterpart in California who decides whether Weinstein can serve his sentences at the same time. If it were up to him, Farber said, he'd run them consecutively, stacking Weinstein’s New York punishment on top of his Los Angeles sentence.
Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair, was quickly moved out of the courtroom after the sentencing. In the gallery, Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress whose rape allegations ended in an overturned conviction and two hung juries, wept profusely as prosecutors, Haley and other accusers consoled her.
Weinstein and Haley both spoke in court
Haley, 49, fought through tears herself as she spoke in court. After testifying at two of Weinstein’s trials — the original and last year's retrial — it was her second time confronting the ex-studio boss at a sentencing proceeding.
“Having been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein has had a devastating effect on my life and sense of security that may never go away,” Haley said. “Making the decision to speak up will have me looking over my shoulder for years to come.”
Weinstein hired private investigators to keep tabs on her, she said, and his defense lawyers and supporters ridiculed her in the media.
“It’s a life sentence for me,” she said.
Minutes later, Weinstein apologized while underscoring his claims of innocence. He maintains that he never raped or sexually assaulted anyone.
It was also Weinstein’s second time speaking at his sentencing — the latest in a series of courtroom soliloquies filled with complaints about his lodging at New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail complex, boasts about his philanthropy and reminiscence about his moviemaking prowess.
“Reflecting on all that has happened since 2017 has helped me recognize how my past conduct has negatively affected others,” Weinstein said, some of his accusers shaking their heads as he spoke. “I live with many regrets and sincerely apologize to anyone I have affected with my actions.”
“I really do have remorse for Miriam Haley,” he added. “I am not a violent man. I ask for mercy. I promise I will pass it on.”
Haley says Weinstein 'still feels entitled'
Haley said afterward that she was happy with the sentence. But, she said, it's clear from Weinstein’s remarks that he does not acknowledge what he did.
“I think he still feels entitled, and that’s part of the problem,” said Haley, who has also gone by the name Mimi Haleyi.
Other accusers, including psychotherapist and former model Kaja Sokola, stood with her as she spoke outside the courthouse.
Haley's lawyer, Gloria Allred, rejected any suggestion that Weinstein's sentencing means the #MeToo era is over, telling reporters: "Women are empowered in a way they have never been before."
“Today was about the survivors,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who sat in the courtroom alongside Weinstein’s accusers.
“I’m moved, as we should all be moved, by their courage and their steadfastness,” he added.
A retrial, a split verdict and another sentencing
Weinstein was originally sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison — 20 years for assaulting Haley and three years for raping Mann.
New York's highest court erased those guilty verdicts in 2024, ruling that Weinstein was prejudiced by testimony from other women whose allegations weren't part of the case.
Tried for a second time last year, Weinstein was again convicted of a first-degree criminal sex act for assaulting Haley. In a messy split verdict, the jury acquitted him of forcibly performing oral sex on Sokola and could not reach a verdict on a rape charge involving Mann.
After another retrial ended in a hung jury in May, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the rape charge rather than pursue a fourth trial after Mann said she could not bear to testify again.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Haley, Sokola and Mann have done.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.