NEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison by a judge in a Manhattan court on Wednesday following his recent rape conviction in a high-profile trial that was hailed as a victory for the #MeToo movement against sexual assault.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul could have faced a minimum sentence of five and a maximum sentence of 29 years behind bars.
Judge James Burke, who presided over the trial in New York State Supreme Court, heeded the arguments of prosecutors who urged him to hand down a long sentence. Weinstein, who turns 68 next week, earlier arrived in court in a wheelchair. He underwent heart surgery in a New York City hospital prison ward last week.
In a statement to the judge before learning his sentence, Weinstein said he was “totally confused” by the case and the #MeToo era.
“We may have different truths, but I have remorse for all of you and for all the men going through this crisis,” he told his accusers, the New York Times newspaper reported. Burke also heard emotional statements from the two women Weinstein was convicted of assaulting, who spoke of how deeply scarred they were by the attacks, as other witnesses who testified during the trial looked on.
“He violated my trust and my body and my personal right to deny sexual advances,” former production assistant Mimi Haleyi said, according to the Times.
Following the sentencing, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance thanked the witnesses for “their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years” which “took down a predator.”
He also also thanked the court “for imposing a sentence that puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice.”
Weinstein accusers also celebrated the penalty, with actress Mira Sorvino tweeting: “I literally cried tears of amazement, gratitude that the justice system has worked on behalf of all of his victims today.”
A jury found Weinstein guilty on February 24 of a criminal sexual act on Haleyi in 2006 and of the third-degree rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. — dpa
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