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Disgraced U.S. movie mogul Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape in Los Angeles

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and two other sexual assault counts by a Los Angeles jury on Monday, marking the second conviction of the onetime Hollywood kingmaker who became the face of #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago. The jury found Weinstein guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving one woman, but acquitted him of charges relating to a second alleged victim, the Los Angeles Superior Court announced.

Anadolu Agency & AFP MAGAZINE
Published December 20,2022
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In this file photo taken on October 4, 2022 former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California. (AFP)

Former Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape Monday in a Los Angeles court.

Weinstein was found guilty on three of seven charges, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object, according to multiple news outlets.

Jurors deliberated for nearly two weeks before returning the guilty verdicts based on reports of an unnamed woman who said she was raped by Weinstein in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013.

Prosecutors said he used his Hollywood influence to lure aspiring actresses into private meetings and then sexually assaulted them.

"Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern," said prosecutor Paul Thompson. "You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence about the nature of this man and what he did to these women."

Weinstein's attorneys said the allegations against their client were either fabricated or arose consensually as part of a "transactional relationship" with the movie producer.

They emphasized that there was no evidence of assault, with defense attorney Alan Jackson calling the accusers "fame and fortune seekers."

Weinstein, 70, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after being convicted of other rapes in that state.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Los Angeles case early next year. However, whatever sentence is handed down, Weinstein must first complete his current prison sentence in New York before being transferred to California.

More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of rape, sexual assault or sexual misconduct since 2017.