Harvey Weinstein
Judge Orders Mistrial On Rape Charge …
After Jury Foreperson Goes M.I.A.
Published
Harvey Weinstein got lucky in his sex crimes retrial Thursday … a New York judge just declared a mistrial on his rape charge after the jury foreperson was a no-show.
The drama went down in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday as the foreperson said hell no to returning to the jury room after claiming the other jurors threatened him. Over what? We don’t know yet.
However, all 12 jurors convicted Weinstein Wednesday of first-degree criminal sexual act for the 2006 case of ex-production assistant Miriam Haley, who accused HW of forcibly performing oral sex on her at his Manhattan home.
But Weinstein was acquitted by the jury on a separate charge of criminal sexual act arising from similar allegations brought by model Kaja Sokola, also in 2006.
No verdict was reached Wednesday on the third charge, in which aspiring actress Jessica Mann claimed Weinstein raped her in 2013 … the judge ordered the jury to continue deliberations to reach a conclusion on that count.
Weinstein was previously convicted of the charges in New York in 2020, but that conviction was overturned on appeal in April 2024. In September 2024, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced plans to retry him on the same charges.
The 73-year-old did not testify in either trial. He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges in both trials.
Closing arguments were completed last Wednesday, after 24 witnesses were called over the course of the trial … Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola and Jessica Mann each testified about their alleged sexual assaults at the hands of Weinstein.
In the original NYC trial, the jury found Weinstein guilty of 1st-degree criminal sexual act and 3rd-degree rape. However, the jury found him not guilty on 2 counts of predatory sexual assault charges, and a 1st-degree rape charge.
Fox 5 New York
At the time of the announcement of the indictment last week, sources told us prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office asked Weinstein to testify … but, we’re told HW declined to testify because prosecutors would not say who his new accusers are.
Weinstein remains a convicted felon in the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles, for which he’s serving a 16-year prison sentence.
