Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two charges (Picture: Getty/ @lionsharenews)

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.



On 24 February, the 67-year-old was found guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree, and faced a maximum sentence of 29 years in prison.



And today, Judge James Burke handed down a sentence of 23 years, during a hearing at the Manhattan Criminal Court.

Judge Burke told Weinstein: ‘This is your first conviction, but not your first offense.’


He received 20 years for a criminal sexual act in the first degree, and three years for rape in the third degree; these sentences will run consecutively.

If Weinstein serves his full sentence, he will be 90 when he leaves prison.



He will also have to register as a sex offender when he is released.

The woman Weinstein was found guilty of raping was present to hear the sentencing, as was the woman who Weinstein was found guilty of forcing oral sex on.

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One of the women who acted a prior bad act witness, who alleged she was raped by Weinstein, was also present, as well as an actress who testified that Weinstein allegedly masturbated in front of her and groped her seven years ago, and a now costume designer who claimed that Weinstein said he would sign her up to his new films if she had a threesome with him and his assistant.

The Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who was a key witness in the trial for the predatory sexual assault charges, alleging that Weinstein engaged in a pattern of violent and abusive behavior over many years, was in the courthouse to hear the judgement, and was accompanied by actress Rosie Perez, who also testified in the trial.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi praised the women who testified in the trial, saying: ‘Without these women and others who were willing to come forward, this matter would never have been able to be taken, it never would have been successful, and the defendant would never have been able to stop hurting or destroying other people’s lives.’

Weinstein was wheeled out of court (Picture: @lionssharenews)

Weinstein was cuffed to his wheelchair (Picture: REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Both women Weinstein was convicted of assaulting spoke again ahead of the sentencing in victim impact statements, with the woman who Weinstein was found to have forced oral sex on bursting into tears as she explained that she avoids dating and rethought her career in the entertainment industry.



She said: ‘I believe that if Harvey Weinstein was not convicted by this jury, it would happen again and again and again.’



The woman Weinstein was convicted of raping also recalled breaking down on the witness stand and being heard screaming outside the courtroom.



She said: ‘The day my screams were heard from the witness room was the day my voice came back to its full power.



‘Rape is not just one moment of penetration. It is forever.’

Rosie and Annabella arrived arm in arm (Picture: AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The one-time aspiring actress also said she was a victim of ‘rape paralysis’ and said: ‘It takes a very special kind of evil to exploit connections to leverage rape.’



Weinstein also spoke in court, and said he had fond memories of his accusers.



‘I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue.’



He also told a court that men facing similar allegations in the #MeToo movement are being accused of ‘things that none of us understood’, and said he was confused by the rape case he was convicted for.



‘I am totally confused. I think men are confused about all of this…this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country.

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‘This is not the right atmosphere in the United States of America.’

Speaking of the women who accused him, he said: ‘I have great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all women.

‘I really feel remorse for this situation. I feel it deeply in my heart.’

Weinstein, who turns 68 next week, arrived in court in a wheelchair, after spending most of his trial on a walker.

His lawyers had previously asked Judge Burke to give Weinstein a sentence of five years, arguing he deserved mercy for his already ‘historic fall from grace’ and serious health issues.



According to Variety, a seven-page memo was put forth by Weinstein’s defense as they cited his charitable contributions, while also claiming the harsh public backlash should be taken into account.



The women who testified were in attendance (Picture: REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

‘Mr. Weinstein cannot walk outside without being heckled, he has lost his means to earn a living, simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media,’ the attorneys wrote.




‘Deserved or not, this is certainly a unique and extremely severe consequence that Mr. Weinstein had to endure, and in the age of social media and given his fame, virtually unrivaled when compared to any other defendant in the state of New York if not nationally.’



Weinstein has been at Rikers Island (Picture: EPA)

Attorneys Damon Cheronis, Donna Rotunno and Arthur Aidala said that ‘the grave reality is that Mr Weinstein may not even outlive that term’ making it ‘a de facto life sentence,’ according to the reports.



The so-called ‘complicated’ nature of the relationships Weinstein had with the two victims in the case was cited, while it was noted Weinstein has been subjected to humiliation during the lengthy trial.



However, prosecutors had pressed for a sentence that ‘reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s offences’ and punishes him for ‘his total lack of remorse for the harm he has done’, following ‘a lifetime of abuse toward others, sexual and otherwise’.



The producer was convicted in a landmark trial (Picture: REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

The jury of seven men and five women at Weinstein’s landmark #MeToo trial had found the producer guilty of two out of five charges, all of which he pleaded not guilty to.



Had he been found guilty of the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault, Weinstein would have faced life in prison.



His legal team have already started work on appealing his conviction.

After the verdict, Weinstein was taken to Bellevue Hospital after complaining of chest pains.



Here he had a procedure to remove a blockage, and spent 10 days in hospital before being transferred to the notorious New York prison Rikers Island.




Weinstein was reportedly ‘miserable’ after suffering a fall in prison, with his spokesperson Juda Engelmayer saying that the former mogul believed he had a concussion.



He said: ‘He’s miserable but trying to be optimistic as best he can. He has had a lot of time to think about his life and be humbled, but he thinks it’s going to be a long, uphill battle from here.’



In Rikers Island, Weinstein was sharing a cell consisting of ‘a sink and toilet, all stainless steel and open’ with two older men.

Weinstein still faces further criminal charges in Los Angeles over the alleged assault of two women in 2013.

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