US: Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison

WASHINGTON

Convicted rapist and disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years behind bars.

"Harvey Weinstein's legacy will always be that he's a convicted rapist," the Silence Breakers, a group that includes several women who accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, said in a statement by 24 of its members. "He is going to jail -- but no amount of jail time will repair the lives he ruined, the careers he destroyed, or the damage he has caused."

The two-dozen women who issued the statement include actresses Rosanna Arquette, Larissa Gomes, Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

Weinstein, 67, was found guilty of third-degree rape and committing a first-degree criminal sexual act in late February in what was a monumental moment for the #MeToo movement. He faced up to 29 years in prison after being found not guilty on charges of predatory sexual assault that could have carried a life sentence.

The first offense Weinstein was convicted of stems from a sexual assault in 2013, while the sex act charge stemmed from Weinstein's sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his New York apartment in 2006.

Haleyi, a production assistant, accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform a sex act on her in his Manhattan apartment while a second, unidentified woman accused Weinstein of rape in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

The former Hollywood producer faces charges in a separate case in Los Angeles related to two incidents during a two-day period in 2013.

Prosecutors there unsealed a four-count indictment against Weinstein as his New York trial was underway that includes one felony count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. The charges are related to two incidents during a two-day period in 2013.

The first incident, which prosecutors say occurred Feb. 18 of that year, began when Weinstein forcibly entered a woman's hotel room and raped her. The following evening he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel.

“We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit violent crimes against them,” District Attorney Lacey said in a statement announcing the new charges.

He faces up to 28 years in state prison if convicted in the Los Angeles case.