Harvey Weinstein and Jessica Mann: third rape trial
One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready…
The saga of the New York trials of Harvey Weinstein is a bit convoluted, so bear with us: in 2020, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and a criminal sex act, resulting in a 23-year prison sentence.
That verdict was later overturned by New York’s Supreme Court due to the improper use of uncharged accusers’ testimony.
So, he got a retrial in 2025, in which he was convicted of one count of first-degree criminal sexual act (involving Miriam Haley in 2006).
Weinstein was also acquitted of a similar count involving another woman, and a mistrial (hung jury) was declared on the third-degree rape charge involving Jessica Mann.
So, now, a THIRD trial is taking place on the sole count of raping Jessica Mann.
In the meantime, he was tried in 2022 in Los Angeles and convicted on three counts (forcible rape, forced oral copulation, and sexual penetration) against one unnamed victim.
This led to a 16-year sentence in 2023, which is to be served after the New York term.
Today, Manhattan prosecutors told the jury that Harvey Weinstein ‘wielded his power like a weapon’ against a ‘fragile and sheltered young woman’ who claims he raped her 13 years ago.
NBC News reported:
“It was his world and everyone was just living in it,” Assistant District Attorney Candace White told jurors during opening statements, presenting the disgraced Hollywood tycoon as a bully who ‘expected everyone to fall in line’ with his every demand.
The trial revolves around allegations from Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actor who claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her at the DoubleTree hotel in midtown Manhattan in 2013. He has vehemently denied Mann’s accusations and all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
‘Jessica naively believed that she had an opportunity’ for professional advancement after first meeting Weinstein, White said, arguing that the movie mogul feigned interest in her acting career and preyed on her vulnerability.”
Harvey Weinstein / Candace
Read: Harvey Weinstein Says #MeToo Was Just Greedy Women Chasing Payouts: ‘March to the Money Pile’
Defense lawyer Jacob Kaplan rebutted the prosecution’s allegations, saying Weinstein and Mann had a lengthy ‘consensual sexual relationship’, and accusing the actress of having ‘slept her way into Hollywood’.
“’She was always in control of her actions’, Kaplan said.
Kaplan highlighted emails the two exchanged, which he characterized as ‘verbal snapshots’ of a ‘supportive’, ‘caring’ and ‘mutually beneficial’ relationship that spanned four years. ‘He didn’t rape her at any time’, Kaplan said.”
Harvey Weinstein 3d NY trial, after opening statements: DA Bragg’s prosecutor describes rape in Doubletree Hotel in Manhattan on March 18, 2013; Marc Agnifilo’s parter Jacob Kaplan cites consent and emails, as Weinstein himself objects from wheelchair- story later pic.twitter.com/qQtyXa36dm
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 21, 2026
Read more:
Harvey Weinstein Says #MeToo Was Just Greedy Women Chasing Payouts: ‘March to the Money Pile’
The post Harvey Weinstein Used His Power To Rape ‘Fragile, Sheltered’ Jessica Mann, Prosecutors Tell Jury as NYC Re-Trial Kicks Off appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.