Following investigations into events dating back to 1996, the equivalent of the prosecutor’s office estimated on Thursday, September 5, that “there is no longer any realistic prospect of conviction” for the former Hollywood star producer.
Two years after the indictment, the British case is closing without a judgment. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – the equivalent of the prosecutor’s office in charge of prosecutions – announced the end of the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault, in a press release published on Thursday, September 5. “There is no longer any realistic prospect of conviction,” justified the institution. The 72-year-old former Hollywood star producer, who has been convicted of similar offences multiple times, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in the United States.
On June 8, 2022, the British prosecutor’s office gave the green light to the indictment of Harvey Weinstein, following a complaint of sexual assault dating back to 1996. The alleged events took place between July 31 and August 31 in London, on a woman now aged around fifty.
Despite the end of these prosecutions, the head of the CPS’s special crimes and counter-terrorism division, Frank Ferguson, encouraged “all potential victims of sexual assault to come forward and contact the police, and we will prosecute (those responsible) wherever the legal criteria are met.”
The 2017 revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assaults sent shockwaves around the world and prompted many victims to speak out. More than 80 women accused him of harassment, sexual assault or rape, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd. Under the hashtag #MeToo On social media, the movement to liberalize speech has allowed countless women to denounce similar facts.
Two convictions
Harvey Weinstein, arrested in 2018, is being held for sexual assault and rape in the United States. In 2020, the New York court sentenced him to twenty-three years in prison, which he is serving today. In February 2023, the Los Angeles court sentenced him to sixteen years in prison for other cases of rape and sexual assault, this sentence is cumulative to the previous one.
The 72-year-old former producer is due to be retried in New York shortly. The proceedings follow an appeals court’s overturning of his 2020 conviction in late April. He will be tried for the alleged 2013 rape of actress Jessica Mann and the alleged 2006 sexual assault of production assistant Mimi Haleyi.
