A Los Angeles judge has sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison! This follows his conviction for the rape and sexual assault of one, ‘Jane Doe 1.’ The former movie producer will serve a new sentence after his 23-year sentence in New York.
Harvey Weinstein is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. Weinstein faced a second criminal trial almost five years after an investigation from journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the New York Times reported on the issue.
Many of Weinstein’s accusers are famous personalities in the entertainment industry,some of them A-listers.However, since he became the center of interest for the #MeToo movement initiated in 2017, none of the women who have narrated their stories in court have had the prominence of Siebel Newsom.
Newson’s husband, Gavin Newsom, is now Governor of California and serving his second term in office, having been elected on the Democratic ticket in 2019. California is the US’ most populous state, and many people think the governor might even have a shot at the presidency sometime in the future.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is a documentary filmmaker, nearly screamed from the witness stand as she teared up, when she told the court how Harvey Weinstein raped her. She said she found herself unexpectedly alone in Weinstein’s suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and she had agreed to join him for a meeting.
She said she had assumed that other people would be present, and that the focus of the talk would be her career. Instead, Weinstein emerged from the bathroom in a robe with nothing underneath and began to grope her as he masturbated.
After revelations about Weinstein emerged in 2017, British police said they were investigating allegations of sexual assault.
British prosecutors disclosed on Wednesday that they had authorized police to charge Harvey Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault, which took place against a woman in London in 1996. Police said the offenses against the woman who is now in her 50sallegedly occurred in the months of July and August. Unlike many other countries of the world, Britain has no statute of limitations with regards to rape and sexual assault.
Five years ago, Alyssa Milano put out a call against the film executive even as allegations of sexual assault against women continued to trickle in. The actor posted a message on Twitter urging others to come forward with their own stories.
In addition, Milano encouraged victims to come forward and write ‘me too’ as a reply to his tweet. This bold message led to scores of accusations of sexual indecency against several powerful men. It actually opened the floodgates to countless people coming forward with their unfortunate experiences, and many institutions making structural changes.
Nevertheless, survivors and advocates of sexual assault victims acknowledge that more work needs to be done before women can feel safe in their work and social environments.
One woman testified that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the Toronto International Film Festival in 1991, and still repeated the offense when she went to confront him at the same hotel 17 years later, during the same festival.
Other women who have come forward with allegations of sexual exploitationinclude actress Asia Argento and former aspiring actress, Lucia Stoller; Mira Sorvino, who starred in several of Weinstein’s films; Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan, among others.In the process, more than 70 prominent men have fallen from grace after being accused of similar misconduct.