Prosecutors in the Los Angeles rape trial of Harvey Weinstein have dropped four charges after declaring they will not move ahead with one of the five Jane Doe complainants.
The decision means Weinstein will face seven counts relating to events that four women allege occurred between 2004 and 2013 – two of rape and five of sexual assault – and not the initial 11. The revised charge sheet carries a potential maximum term of 60 years to life plus five if he is found guilty.
The disgraced former Hollywood mogul – who is serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York state after he was found guilty in early 2020 of third degree rape and first degree sexual assault – has denied all charges and said any and all contact with his accusers was consensual.
Weinstein, 70, was granted permission in August to appeal his New York state conviction, which places greater urgency on the prosecution to secure a conviction.
No reason was given for the revision to the charge sheet although the move was not entirely a surprise after the prosecution did not mention Jane Doe #5 in opening statements. The charges concerning her comprised two counts of forcible rape counts and two counts of forcible oral copulation.
According to reports, Tuesday’s session at Los Angeles Superior Court in Downtown Los Angeles continued with the defence cross-examination of Jane Doe #4, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, whose identity is known after she publicly identified herself. The wife of California governor Gavin Newsom alleged she was sexually assaulted by Weinstein at 2005 Toronto International Film Festival when she was an aspiring actress and filmmaker and was not yet married to Gavin Newsom.
No comments yet