Prosecutors: Harvey Weinstein will not be retried on US sexual assault charges
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US prosecutors have announced they will not move forward with attempts to retry Harvey Weinstein on sexual assault charges relating to two women in Los Angeles.
The disgraced movie mogul, 70, was sentenced to 16 years in prison last month after being found guilty of rape and two other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman known as Jane Doe One.
Following the trial in December, the jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, including those related to two women known as Jane Doe Two and Jane Doe Four.
On Monday, Judge Lisa Lench dismissed the charges that a jury failed to reach an agreement on.
I believed in our system of justice and hoped I would achieve justice if I testified truthfully which I did. I wanted him to be held accountable for what he did to me
The court heard an in-person statement from Jane Doe Two, who said she was “very disappointed” prosecutors would not be retrying the disgraced Hollywood producer.
“For 10 years I have done everything I can to seek justice for what the defendant did to me,” she said.
“I believed in our system of justice and hoped I would achieve justice if I testified truthfully, which I did. I wanted him to be held accountable for what he did to me.
“I think that Harvey Weinstein should be punished for any and every crime he has committed against women – including me.
“Harvey Weinstein … will always be remembered not as a famous producer, but as a sexual predator.”
The court also heard a statement, read out by deputy district attorney Marlene Martinez, from Jane Doe Four, which said the trauma caused by Weinstein’s alleged acts had been “crippling”.
“There are days when I cannot sit and nights when I cannot sleep,” the statement read.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson praised the courage of the victims for testifying before announcing that they would not be proceeding with the retrials.
After receiving his sentence in February, Weinstein maintained his innocence and begged judge Lench for “mercy”.
“Please don’t sentence me to life in prison, I don’t deserve it. I beg your mercy,” he said at the sentencing.
On Monday, the former producer appeared in court in person, once again wearing a grey Los Angeles County jail uniform and sitting in a wheelchair.
Judge Lench said Weinstein would be remanded in custody in LA before being returned to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case.
