Harvey Weinstein was convicted of criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree

By Ale Russian – February 24, 2020 – for People magazine

My cmnt: This happened two years ago now. Click the link above for the full article. I note it here as I want an easy way to find a record of his verdict and have been so consumed by the democrat dictatorial response to Covid for the past two years I really didn’t know that Harvey the Serial rapist and major democrat donor had finally been found guilty.

My cmnt: But – wow – read the current article below this one! The super rich democrat donor Harvey Weinstein may yet skate. Having loads of money, power and being a democrat can get you off almost anything – just look at the many crimes and lies Hillary has been given a pass on.

My cmnt: Also see the next article below that one on Louis C. K. and Marilyn Manson and how liberals weigh and value things.

Some of Harvey Weinstein‘s accusers are reacting after the former producer was found guilty of two charges after a trial in New York.

Weinstein, 67, faced two counts of rape, one count of criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault based on the accusations of two women — former actress Jessica Mann and former Weinstein production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi.

He was convicted of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

Haleyi and actress Annabella Sciorra, as well as actress Rosie Perez in support of Sciorra, took the stand during trial to testify against the former mogul.

Actresses Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino, Asia Argento, Rose McGowan and Rosanna Arquette, some of the most prominent voices who came forward to accuse Weinstein, all reacted to the verdict on Twitter.

Judges in Harvey Weinstein appeal slam ‘prejudicial testimony,’ raise questions about conviction

Staff and wire reports – Dec 15, 2021 – for USAtoday

A New York court took prosecutors to task at the first hearing in Harvey Weinstein’s appeal, raising questions about whether the disgraced movie producer’s 2020 rape conviction could be thrown out.

The role prejudicial evidence played in the charges leveled against the convicted sex offender and former Hollywood mogul was a focal point of the hearing. Several members of the five-judge panel appeared open to considering reversing Weinstein’s conviction and ordering a new trial.

Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels noted that prosecutors had piled on with “incredibly prejudicial” testimony from additional witnesses and that introducing evidence of Weinstein’s churlish behavior amounted to overkill.

“Let’s inflame the jury’s heart by telling them that he beat up his brother during a meeting,” said Manzanet-Daniels, challenging assistant district attorney Valerie Figueredo, who implored the judges to uphold Weinstein’s conviction. “I don’t see how there is a balance there on that.”

“He doesn’t get convicted because he’s a bad guy,” another judge noted, identified by Variety as Justice Judith Gische. “He gets convicted for these particular crimes.”

Harvey Weinstein’s LA sex-crime case lives on: Rose McGowan’s civil suit against him thrown out

The arguments made in the appellate division of New York’s Supreme Court are part of the latest installment in a mixed bag of legal developments for Weinstein, following a Los Angeles judge’s refusal to dismiss his sex-crime case last week. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the extra testimony essentially put the former studio chief on trial for crimes he wasn’t charged with and hadn’t had an opportunity to defend himself against.

Judge James Burke, the Manhattan judge who presided over Weinstein’s trial last year, allowed prosecutors to bolster their case with testimony from three women who alleged Weinstein also violated them but whose claims did not lead to charges in New York. Burke’s ruling allowing prosecutors to use horror stories from the producer’s past to attack his credibility succeeded in preventing him from taking the witness stand, Weinstein lawyer Barry Kamins told the appellate panel.

“The jury was overwhelmed by such prejudicial, bad evidence,” Kamins said. “This was a trial of Harvey Weinstein’s character. The people were making him out to be a bad person.”

The case against Weinstein in LA: Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to sex crimes, including forcible rape, in Los Angeles

Weinstein’s legal team told USA TODAY they remain optimistic there is still a chance for justice for their client.

“We are hopeful that after hearing the right and legal arguments that clouded Mr. Weinstein’s New York trial, the appellate court will do what is legally just and support due process,” the lawyers said in a statement.

A decision on the appeal isn’t expected until 2022.

Weinstein, 69, was convicted in February 2020 of a criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013. He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault stemming from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of a mid-1990s rape.

The verdict was a landmark in the #MeToo movement that was spawned by women coming forward with allegations against Weinstein. He maintains his innocence and contends that any sexual activity was consensual.

Weinstein, who was extradited from a New York state prison in July, is in a Los Angeles county jail awaiting trial, which may not be held until after next summer. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which involve five accusers and date between 2004 and 2013. 

Contributing: Edward Segarra and Maria Puente, USA TODAY, and The Associated Press

Marilyn Manson, Louis C.K. are nominated for Grammys. Sexual assault survivors ask where cancel culture is now.

By Alia E. Dastagir – Nov 24, 2021 – for USAtoday

Marilyn Manson and Louis C.K., who have both been accused of sexual violence and misconduct, received Grammy Nominations Tuesday, prompting widespread outcry on social media. 

Many sexual assault survivors claimed it showed how, even in a post-MeToo era, the public and its institutions continue to minimize sexual violence and reward those accused (or, in the case of C.K., who have admitted to such violence). Others used the nominations as an example of how cancel culture, among the most polarizing current cultural debates, rarely generates lasting consequences. 

“Marilyn Manson being nominated for a Grammy is a huge slap in the face for sexual assault and domestic abuse survivors,” author Lauren Badillo Milici said on Twitter. “I’m sad and tired.”

When #MeToo exploded, cancel culture came for powerful men accused of abuse. It is one way survivors seek accountability in a society that systematically denies them justice. Cancel culture is what happens, experts say, when there is no clear social response to sexual violence. But experts argue most powerful men are rarely ever truly canceled, except in the most egregious cases, and even then it can take decades, such as with Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein.

“Cancel culture is what happens when women feel they don’t have power,” said Nicole Bedera, an expert in sexual violence. “It’s what we are left with when our traditional institutions of accountability are not working.”

The CEO of the Recording Academy, which presents the awards, addressed the controversy in an interview with The Wrap.

“We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration,” Harvey Mason Jr. said.

Manson was nominated for his work on Kanye West’s “Donda.” He has been accused of abuse by more than a dozen women, including “Westworld” actress and ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, who said she named Manson’s name publicly so she could “expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives.”

Manson is currently facing several lawsuits alleging sexual, emotional and physical abuse. A representative has repeatedly denied the accusations against him. 

Ashley Morgan Smithline, the fourth person to file a lawsuit against Manson, told People magazine in November that seeing him being invited to perform at Ye’s Sunday Service over the Halloween weekend was “just like being retraumatized.” 

“It’s just showing the point that the world doesn’t really care if you rape and if you beat and hurt all these (women), you can do whatever you want, basically, if you have money and you’re a guy and you’re famous,” she said. 

C.K. was nominated for best comedy album for his special, “Sincerely Louis C.K.” In 2017, the comedian admitted to masturbating in front of women he knew professionally. In his special, he makes several jokes about his sexual misconduct.