London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jan 31, 2026

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in jail over rape, sexual assault charges

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in jail over rape, sexual assault charges

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Last December, the disgraced movie producer was found guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration of a foreign object in relation to an unnamed woman.

The 70-year-old is currently serving a 23-year jail term in New York for other sexual assault and rape charges, after a 2020 conviction.

In a hearing today, a judge in LA handed him 16 years behind bars.

According to PA, Weinstein appeared in court in person for the hearing, pleading with the judge for ‘mercy’.

‘Your Honour … I maintain that I am innocent,’ he said, via the publication. ‘I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe One. I don’t know that woman and she doesn’t know me.

The trial in Los Angeles lasted around a month

‘This is a made-up story. With all due respect, Jane Doe One is an actress … Jane Doe One can turn on the tears.

‘Please don’t sentence me to life in prison, I don’t deserve it. I beg your mercy.’

PA reports that Jane Doe One shared a victim impact statement, in which she said that she was ‘broken into a million pieces’ over the assault.

‘I have been carrying this weight for 12 months,’ she reportedly began. ‘Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future.

Weinstein reportedly pleaded for mercy before the sentencing


‘Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me.

‘I became invisible to myself and to the world … I lost my identity.

‘It has broken me into a million pieces … there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.’

Four women brought the current case against the 70-year-old, with five sexual assault charges – including two counts of forcible rape.

The accusers were aspiring models at the time, and claimed the encounters occurred between 2004 and 2013 in LA County.

He was previously sentenced to spend 23 years behind bars in New York


They gave emotional testimonies in court, with Jane Doe One telling the jury that Weinstein allegedly showed up uninvited at her hotel room during a film festival in 2013, and assaulted her.

Although she hadn’t previously joined the dozens of women who had sued him for sexual harassment or assault, her testimony led to his second rape conviction.

The movie mogul was acquitted of one count of sexual battery, but the jury remained hung on one count of rape, one count of sexual battery by restraint and one count of forcible oral copulation.

Prosecutors originally called for the judge to hand him the maximum 24-year sentence, to run consecutively to his current term.

In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez said the ‘titan’ used his power to take advantage of women.

‘Rapists rape,’ fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson added. ‘You can look at the pattern.’

He pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, and has denied all allegations against him.

Weinstein’s conviction comes more than five years after reports first emerged of his behavior – which sparked the #MeToo movement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
White House: Trump warns Canada of 100% tariff if Carney finalizes China trade deal
PLA opens CMC probe of Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli over Xi authority and discipline violations
ICE and DHS immigration raids in Minneapolis: the use-of-force accountability crisis in mass deportation enforcement
UK’s Starmer and Trump Agree on Urgent Need to Bolster Arctic Security
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
×