LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles prosecutors told a judge Tuesday they would not retry Harvey Weinsteinwho was convicted of rape and sexual assault of a woman, including two others, which left jurors deadlocked.
At a hearing in the city of Los Angeles, Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson told Superior Court Judge Lisa B. announced the decision to Lench. The judge granted a defense motion to dismiss the charges and said Weinstein would return to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case,
Weinstein’s attorney Jacqueline Spargna said he maintains his innocence of the charges.
Los Angeles in December Jury convicts Weinstein70, of rape and sexual assault of a Italian model and actor and that was sentenced to 16 years In jail. This is in addition to the 23-year sentence he is already serving in New York.
Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on one count of rape and one count of sexual assault jennifer siebel newsom Gavin Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and a sexual battery count involving the model Lauren Young,
Young testified at Weinstein’s New York trial as a supporting witness, but was not part of the charges there because she was in California. She said at Tuesday’s hearing that she was “very disappointed” prosecutors would not proceed with the re-trial.
“For 10 years I have done everything possible to seek justice for what the defendants did to me,” Young said in prepared remarks as his attorney, Gloria Allred, stood behind him. “I didn’t get the justice I expected.”
10 of the 12 jurors agreed to convict Weinstein of the sexual battery charge involving Young.
Thompson said that the difficulty of getting hesitant witnesses to corroborate Young’s story was a factor. They commended Young for testifying “credibly and courageously” and said “we never wavered in our faith in him.”
“It’s a tough decision,” Thompson said. “We certainly wanted to see justice for all the victims.”
He said that Weinstein would only face an additional year in prison if convicted on the sexual battery count, and that the extra stretch was not worth another trial.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they publicly identify themselves, as the women named here have done.
Siebel Newsom’s attorney, Elizabeth Fagen, said in a statement after the hearing that they respected prosecutors’ decision not to retry the charges against her.
“The first accomplice’s primary intent in coming forward was to ensure that Weinstein spends the rest of his life in prison,” Fagen said. Prosecutors if they choose to retry Weinstein, even considering the enormous emotional toll it will impose on him.
Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez read a statement from Siebel Newsom during the hearing.
“The defense reopened and exacerbated my trauma,” the statement read. He tried to ruin my life and that of many other women. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail. ,
Sparagna said at the hearing that the encounter with Siebel Newsom was consensual, as his attorneys argued during the trial. Weinstein insisted at his sentencing that he had never met the woman he was convicted of raping. His lawyers also said that the incident involving Young never happened.
After the hearing, Allred identified another client who had accused Weinstein of rape and sexual assault but declined to attend the trial at the last minute, leading to her dismissal.
The woman, Australian actor and model Kate Jaggard, said in a statement that she was prepared to testify at the trial, but could not appear to testify due to circumstances beyond her control.
She said she was “deeply disappointed” Lench would not allow her and the other women Weinstein was not convicted of assault to make a victim impact statement at his sentencing. But she said “the conviction was a victory for all sexual assault victims.”
Allred is appealing the judge’s decision to the California Supreme Court in hopes that statements to this effect will be allowed at the same sentence.
Weinstein’s New York conviction is being appealed and his lawyers plan to appeal the California conviction.
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