SALT LAKE CITY — In a landmark moment for the #MeToo movement, former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of rape and felony sexual assault. He faces up to 29 years in jail when he is sentenced on March 11.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein prompted global outrage and a social media phenomenon, in which victims came forward with similar accusations against men in powerful positions.
The trial, which stemmed from accusations that Weinstein targeted two women — Jessica Mann and Miriam Haley — when they were starting their careers in the film industry, was one of the first major prosecutions in the #MeToo era. For many, the trial was seen as a “watershed moment” for the movement itself and an important test of whether men would be held responsible for workplace sexual misconduct, The New York Times reported.
“Weinstein, whose signature throughout 40 years of allegations was lack of accountability, has been declared guilty on two counts,” Jodi Kantor, The New York Times reporter who along with journalist Megan Twohey first broke the bombshell story detailing the allegations against Weinstein in October 2017, tweeted on Monday.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called the verdict a “victory” for survivors of sexual assault.
“This is a victory for the brave survivors who spoke out against Weinstein,” wrote Omar on Twitter. “Our system so often silences survivors and delivers injustice, so we can’t let up in our fight to lift up survivors and hold predators who abuse their power fully accountable.”
Some expressed surprise at the verdict, coming from an assumption that a man as powerful as Weinstein would not be held accountable by the criminal justice system.
“It says a lot about rape culture and how accustomed women are to losing that nearly every female friend I have was expecting a ‘not guilty’ verdict in the Weinstein trial,” tweeted journalist Jessica Valenti.
“20 years ago, Harvey told me when a woman says the sex wasn’t consensual, ‘Sometimes you have to write a check.’ Turns out sometimes you have to go to prison,” tweeted journalist Kim Masters of the Hollywood Reporter.
Weinstein was convicted on only two of five counts. The Manhattan jury acquitted the 67-year-old on the most serious charges, including two counts of predatory sexual assault, which could have resulted in a life sentence. The jury also found him not guilty of one count of first-degree rape.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty in the case and denies all allegations of sexual misconduct. During the trial, his lawyers argued that Weinstein had been “railroaded” by the #MeToo movement, the Times reported.
While some viewed the verdict as a victory for sexual assault survivors, others have cautioned against seeing the case as precedent-setting, including Deborah Tuerkheimer, who used to prosecute domestic violence cases in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
“This case is unusual in many ways. It’s come to stand in for the #MeToo movement, but I think that we ought to resist generalizing the verdict,” Tuerkheimer told Newsweek. “This was a really complicated case. The criminal justice system has generally not done very well in cases involving acquaintances, where there’s not physical injury and where there’s delayed reporting.”
Regardless, Tuerkheimer said it is like likely that we will see increasing numbers of #MeToo cases being prosecuted in court in the future. In fact, in addition to the New York case, Weinstein was charged in Los Angeles on Jan. 6, the first day of his Manhattan trial, with sexually assaulting two women. If convicted, he could face up to 28 years in prison on the Los Angeles charges alone. Weinstein said all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
”I think it does send a message that jurors are able to be convinced by the testimony of victims who don’t behave in conventionally understood ways,” Tuerkheimer told Newsweek. “And prosecutors are always thinking about the likelihood of conviction. When they are encouraged to bring cases involving imperfect victims, as all victims are, we will see more of these kinds of cases coming into the system.”