Harvey Weinstein Will Not Face New Trial for Remaining Charges in Los Angeles

Last year, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury — though in a mixed verdict, jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on all counts, with the judge declaring a mistrial on three of seven charges.

On Tuesday, the judge dismissed those three remaining charges, and ruled that she would not be putting Weinstein back on trial.

Prior to the judge’s decision, the prosecution announced the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office would not be proceeding with the remaining charges.

Weinstein was sentenced last month to 16 additional years for his most recent conviction in L.A. He is already serving a 23-year sentence for his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, and will all-but-likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. He is appealing both of his convictions.

After a two month trial in late 2022, the jury found Weinstein guilty of three counts of sexual assault and rape of sexual assault, and acquitted him of a sexual battery charge of a massage therapist, identified as Jane Doe #3. The jurors were split on charges involving two other accusers: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, or Jane Doe #4, and Lauren Young, who was Jane Doe #2. Although the jurors could not come to a unanimous agreement, their votes indicated they were leaning towards a conviction on both charges, voting 10-2 to convict him on a sexual battery charges against Young, and 8-4 in favor of conviction on charges of rape and forcible oral copulation of Siebel Newsom.

At the hearing, Young, who was identified as Jane Doe #2 in the trial, addressed the court with a statement, urging the judge to re-try the charges. Appearing in court with her attorney, Gloria Allred, Young said, “I think Harvey Weinstein should be punished for any and every crime.”

“Even though the defendant has been convicted of New York and L.A. for crimes against other women,” Young said, “I wanted him to be held accountable for what he did to me.”

Young told Judge Lisa B. Lench that she believed re-trying all charges would set a precedent for sexual predators, and would give victims more belief in the justice system.

“He will always be remembered not as a great producer, but as a convicted felon and sexual predator,” Young said.

Siebel Newsom provided a written statement that was read aloud by prosecutor Marlene Martinez. In the statement, Governor Newsom’s wife said that her life has been greatly impacted by Weinstein allegedly raping her, and she has dealt with anxiety, lack of confidence and trouble in her relationships. “He tried to ruin my life and the lives of so many other women,” Siebel Newsom’s statement read. “He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

Weinstein was in court, wearing his L.A. county jail jumpsuit. He was seated in a wheelchair and appeared to be listening intently, but did not visibly react to Young’s statement or the judge’s decision to dismiss the charges.

As lead prosecutor Paul Thompson pointed out when addressing the judge, Weinstein is serving a combined sentencing of 39 years and will spend the remainder of his life in prison. Thompson explained that the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office made the “difficult decision” not to proceed with a retrial, but not because they don’t believe in seeking justice for every victim. He noted that after a new trial, if there was a conviction on the charge associated to Young, Weinstein would likely get one addition year in prison. Thompson thanked Young for her commitment to seeking justice, having testified in both New York and Los Angeles.

After the brief morning hearing, Weinstein’s attorney told the media in the hallway that he looks forward to his appeal on his Los Angeles conviction.

The three charges on which Weinstein was convicted were all associated to Evgeniya Chernyshova, a Russian-born Italian model, formerly known as Jane Doe No. 1 in the trial, who testified that Weinstein raped her in 2013 during the L.A. Italia Film Festival. Weinstein’s defense has attacked her credibility, arguing that the court withheld relevant evidence, but the judge declined their request for a new trial with a new jury.

For the duration and preparation of his Los Angeles trial, Weinstein was extradited to the west coast and has been in L.A. County Jail. Now that he’s been convicted and all charges have been settled, he will return to prison in upstate New York to finish the remainder of his 23-year sentence on the east coast, which he began serving in March 2020. The judge ordered Weinstein to serve his 23-year sentence and 16-year L.A. sentence consecutively. On Tuesday, the judge announced that Weinstein will be sent back to New York imminently, but did not give an exact date for him to be moved out of L.A.

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