New York judge imposed 20 years for a first-degree criminal sex act and three years for third-degree rape, to run consecutively
Harvey Weinstein, the titan of Hollywood turned convicted rapist, has been sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday in New York.
Related: Weinstein’s lawyers say 'remarkable accomplishments' warrant light prison sentence
Continue reading...Defense team pleads for minimum sentence after Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on one woman and raping another
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers have petitioned the judge who presided over his trial and rape conviction in a New York court to sentence him to the minimum of five years in prison, controversially citing the fallen producer’s “remarkable accomplishments”.
The disgraced mogul’s defense team, led by Donna Rotunno, are pleading for the very lightest possible sentence. Judge James Burke will reconvene at the New York supreme court at 9.30am on Wednesday to hand down his sentence, which could be as severe as 29 years in prison.
Continue reading...One of Hollywood's most powerful men, Harvey Weinstein, has been found guilty of rape at his trial in New York. The jury found Weinstein guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree for forcing, and also convicted him of rape in the third degree
Continue reading...The groundbreaking model, restaurateur and lifestyle guru Barbara B Smith, known to many as “the black Martha Stewart”, has died, her family announced on Sunday. She was 70.
Smith died on Saturday evening after suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, which she was found to have in 2013. Following her diagnosis, Smith and her husband, Dan Gasby, raised awareness of the disease and particularly its impacts on the African American community.
Continue reading...Jury indicated that in three counts they have reached their decision, and will now break and return to deliberations on the other two counts on Monday
The jury at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in New York appears to have reached a verdict on three of the five counts facing him, though they are deadlocked on the most serious charge – predatory sexual assault.
Shortly after the lunch break on Friday, the five men and seven women of the jury were called back into court having indicated that in three counts they have reached their decision. These are: the count that alleges the fallen movie mogul forced oral sex on a then Project Runway production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006 and two counts of rape in 2013 of a woman who the Guardian is not naming as her intentions on identification are unclear.
Continue reading...A millionaire fashion executive accused of raping 10 women and girls at his Bahamas mansion reportedly hosted Prince Andrew and his family at the property in 2000.
A class action lawsuit lodged in New York City claims that Peter Nygard lured “young, impressionable, and often impoverished children and women” to his Bahamas property with cash payments and promises of modeling opportunities, only to then “assault, rape, and sodomize them”.
Continue reading...Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul who was a “master of his universe”, stepped on, demoralised, humiliated and ultimately abused and raped “disposable” women he tricked into his lair, a prosecutor told the jury on Friday in closing arguments at his New York rape trial.
Related: Harvey Weinstein trial nears final act after defence rests
Continue reading...The film producer Harvey Weinstein is expected to call several more witnesses on Monday in his New York rape trial, which is nearing its conclusion well ahead of schedule.
Related: Donna Rotunno: the legal Rottweiler leading Harvey Weinstein’s defense
Continue reading...Rape trial continued with cross-examination of accuser who suffered a panic attack under questioning on Monday
The dramatic rape trial of Harvey Weinstein continued on Tuesday with the cross-examination of an accuser who suffered a panic attack under questioning the day before.
The 34-year-old witness alleges she was violently raped twice by the film producer in 2013. Her claims form a central pillar of the prosecution’s case.
Continue reading...Judge suspended proceedings until Tuesday morning after a key witness was unable to bring her crying under control
Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in New York had to be brought to an abrupt halt on Monday afternoon after one of his two main accusers was reduced to uncontrollable sobbing, having been subjected to more than four hours of relentless grilling at the hands of his defense lawyer.
James Burke, the judge presiding over the New York supreme court trial, suspended proceedings until Tuesday morning when the key witness was unable to bring her crying and breathing under control and appeared to have a panic attack. Even after a five-minute break, the woman continued to sob in her witness seat.
Continue reading...Andrew has said he is ‘angry and bewildered’ and denies reports that he has been contacted about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation
Claims made this week that Prince Andrew failed to respond to an FBI investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking conspiracy were likely issued by US investigators as an appeal for political support, former sex crime prosecutors say.
Earlier this week, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman took the extraordinary step of announcing from the steps of Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion in New York, that prosecutors and the FBI had repeatedly contacted the Duke of York’s lawyers to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.
Continue reading...Israeli private detective firm employed by mogul to try to foil publication of sexual misconduct allegations, New York court told
The jury in the New York rape trial of Harvey Weinstein has heard that the once-powerful movie mogul employed the Israeli private investigation firm Black Cube to try to squash a New York Times article that blew the lid on sexual misconduct allegations against him and sparked the #MeToo movement.
Dev Sen, a corporate lawyer at the prestigious New York law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, told the court that his company had acted as go-between connecting the beleaguered movie producer to Black Cube. The private detective firm has a staff largely consisting of alumni of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Continue reading...Dawn Dunning describes experience of Weinstein ‘towering over’ her and allegedly demanding she have threesome with assistant
A witness at the Harvey Weinstein rape trial in New York described on Wednesday the moment the movie mogul allegedly screamed at her that she would never make it in the film business, after she refused to have a threesome with him and his assistant.
Dawn Dunning, 40, told the jury at the New York supreme court how she had become very scared about what Weinstein might do to her after she tried to get away from the room. “He was screaming. He was a big guy, and he was towering over me. I was really scared.”
Continue reading...Annabella Sciorra’s shocking testimony marks first time the Weinstein sex crimes trial directly heard from one of his accusers
In a packed courtroom in the New York supreme court in Manhattan on Thursday, the former Sopranos actor Annabella Sciorra held her arms above her head, wrists locked, in a physical re-enactment of the moment she alleged that the disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein forcibly pinned her to her bed.
“He took my hands and put them over my head to hold them back,” the actor said, staring straight at the jury. Some 15ft away on the defense table, the defendant looked impassively at her.
Continue reading...New York prosecutor describes allegations of the women, who she says were ‘groomed’ before Weinstein assaulted them
Harvey Weinstein was a savvy New York businessman and famous Hollywood producer who used his power and the promise of his largesse within the film industry to groom a succession of naive and inexperienced women – who he went on to sexually assault and in some cases rape, state prosecutors alleged on Wednesday.
In an opening statement lasting over an hour, New York prosecutor Meghan Hast delivered a devastating and at times shocking account of Weinstein’s alleged attacks on six women who will testify at the fallen mogul’s trial in Manhattan.
Continue reading...Judge furious with Weinstein for using phone in courtroom, where mogul is standing trial on five counts of serious sexual offences
The second day of Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in Manhattan kicked off with sparks flying as the judge threatened to slap the movie mogul in jail for using his cellphone in court while defence lawyers protested that their client was not receiving a fair and impartial hearing.
Related: Harvey Weinstein hit with new charges in Los Angeles during New York trial
Continue reading...Actor accuses Weinstein of derailing her career after she ‘resisted his advances’
The actor Rosanna Arquette, one of Harvey Weinstein’s most prominent accusers, says she plans to attend the trial of the disgraced film producer when it starts in New York on Monday.
Arquette will not be giving evidence in the case, but she said she will be there to lend support to the handful of women who have been allowed to give testimony in court of Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct and abuse.
Continue reading...Stabbings in Monsey, Rockland county, are latest antisemitic incident in region
Jewish groups and political leaders have issued calls for increased protection in New York after a string of attacks during Hanukah left members of the region’s Jewish community on edge.
On Saturday night, an attacker stabbed five people during Hanukah festivities at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, Rockland county, about 30 miles north of New York City, in what Governor Andrew Cuomo called “an act of domestic terrorism”. The attack was the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the region.
Continue reading...An attacker stabbed five people at a rabbi's home in New York state late on Saturday. The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said the attacker fled after stabbing the victims with a large knife or machete at a house in Monsey, Rockland county. A suspect was later arrested
Continue reading...Attack takes place during festivities at rabbi’s home in Monsey, say authorities, with suspect later arrested in Harlem
An attacker has stabbed five people during Hanukah festivities at a rabbi’s home in New York state in what Governor Andrew Cuomo called “an act of domestic terrorism”.
Related: New York police boost patrols after suspected antisemitic attacks
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