Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will not return to court for sex crimes that were left unresolved in his most recent trial in Los Angeles, a California court ruled Tuesday.
The once-powerful movie star of the 70s was sentenced in February to 16 years in prison in this state for sexually assaulting a woman in a decade at a Beverly Hills hotel.
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for another case of New York sex crimes, so with an additional sentence he could spend the rest of his days behind bars.
Several women, including those identified by his lawyer as the now First Lady of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom, described being sexually assaulted by Weinstein in court in Los Angeles.
The tycoon has denied all charges, pleaded not guilty, and his defense is working on appeals in New York and California.
In December, this court found him guilty of assaulting a woman, but acquitted him of second assault.
The jury did not reach a verdict on the complaints of two other women.
This Tuesday, Judge Lisa B. Lench decided to dismiss the three pending charges and announced that she would place Weinstein in counsel for them, in response to a request from the former employee’s defense.
The prosecutor’s office had already been informed that the accusers would not insist, however, that the women who had accused him had asked for the just nature of the charges to be reconsidered.
Rumors about the abusive behavior of the producer of “Shakespeare’s Passion” and “Pulp Fiction” have circulated as an open secret for years in Hollywood.
His power was challenged only in 2017, when strong accusations against him were published in the media and the #MeToo movement against sexual violence gave way. Dozens of women were then recruited to talk about their traumatic experiences with Weinstein.
After his 2020 conviction in New York, a civil court ruled in favor of $17 million in monetary compensation to some of Weinstein’s victims.
In February, the woman who accused Weinstein of raping her at a Beverly Hills hotel also sued him for damages resulting from sexual assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
The #MeToo movement has had a global impact, motivating hundreds of women to speak out about sexual violence and abuse of power in their workplaces.
