Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and criminal sexual acts.
In a little over 2 weeks, the judge announced on Wednesday morning at the Manhattan Supreme Court.
This sentence is aa victory for those women who have accused Weinstein.
Judge James Burke sentenced him to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 29 years in prison.
Just before the sentence was given, the accusers, Miriam Hale and Jessica Mann gave their final statements before the judge.
Mann said, “I don’t know how to explain the horrors of being raped by someone who has power. “The impact on the psyche is profound. Rape is not just one moment…it is forever.”
Haley, on the other hand, said that it left her deeply scarred, mentally and emotionally, “What he did not only stripped me of my dignity as a human being and a woman, but it crushed my confidence.”
During the final statement of Weinstein, he apologized to his victims and said he has deep remorse over what he had done.
On the other hand, he also said that he was confused about the #MeToo movement, “I think men are confused about all of the this…this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country.”
The district attorney Cyrus Vance made a statement regarding the sentencing, “We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years. Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent. But they refused to be silent, and they were heard. Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world.”
The trial ended in February with 5 women and 7 men who find him guilty of rape in the third degree and a criminal sexual act in the first degree. The producer spent his first 10 days at Bellevue Hospital and had a heart procedure and inserted a stent on him. He was then sent to the infirmary unit at Rikers Island Jail.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson of Weinstein, said that he fell while he was in jail and he needed to use a walker to be able to get in and out of the courthouse. He was not provided one in the jail.
Moving forward, his lawyers said they will still appeal on the verdict and that Weinstein was acquitted of the most serious charges which were predatory sexual assault and a charge of first-degree rape.
If he would have been guilty of these, he would have gotten a life sentence in prison.
His legal battles are not yet over though. The Los Angeles District Attorney charged him with rape, sexual penetration by force and sexual battery by restraint.
If found guilty, he will be sentenced to 28 years of prison in California. There is still no clarification though of how the case will proceed after the New York sentence.
Read More: Annabella Sciorra Testified on Case vs. Harvey Weinstein
