No Harvey Weinstein retrial on rape, sex assault charges
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors told a judge Tuesday that they will not retry Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of one woman, on counts involving two others that left jurors deadlocked.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson announced the decision to Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench at a hearing in downtown Los Angeles. The judge granted a defense motion to dismiss the charges and said Weinstein would be returned to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case.
Weinstein attorney Jacqueline Sparagna said he maintains his innocence of the charges.
In December, the Los Angeles jury convicted Weinstein, 70, of the rape and sexual assault of Italian model and actor Evgeniya Chernyshova, and he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. That’s in addition to the 23-year sentence he is already serving in New York.
Jurors could not reach unanimous verdicts on a rape count and a sexual assault count involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom — a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom — and a sexual battery count involving model Lauren Young.
Young testified at Weinstein’s New York trial as a supporting witness, but was not part of the charges there as she was in California. She said at Tuesday’s hearing that she was “very disappointed” prosecutors would not be moving forward with a retrial.
“For 10 years I have done everything possible to seek justice for what the defendant did to me,” Young said, reading from prepared remarks with her attorney Gloria Allred standing behind her. “I have not achieved the justice that I had hoped to obtain.”
Ten of the 12 jurors agreed to convict Weinstein of the sexual battery charge involving Young.
Thompson said the difficulty of having hesitant witnesses corroborate Young’s story was a factor. He commended Young for testifying “credibly and courageously,” and said “we never wavered in our confidence in her.”
“It is a difficult decision,” Thompson said. “We certainly did want to see justice for all the victims.”
He added that Weinstein would likely only face an additional year in prison if convicted on the sexual battery count, and that additional stretch was not worth another trial.
