Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 15 years in New York sexual assault case
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesHarvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in his Manhattan apartment in 2006, closing the New York chapter of a legal saga that helped ignite the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein, 74, was convicted in June 2025 of a first-degree criminal sex act against Ms. Haley in a retrial ordered after New York’s highest court erased his original 2020 conviction, ruling that the trial judge improperly admitted testimony about uncharged alleged sexual acts. The charge carried a maximum penalty of 25 years.
Manhattan prosecutors had asked Judge Curtis Farber to impose a 20-year term. Mr. Weinstein’s attorney argued for a lighter sentence, citing his client’s declining health.
Addressing the court before sentencing, Weinstein said, “I do have remorse for Miriam Haley’s pain, but I have to reiterate my innocence.”
Ms. Haley, who first testified against Weinstein at his 2020 trial before that conviction was thrown out, returned to the stand at last year’s retrial to recount the assault and told the court Wednesday that it had permanently altered her sense of safety.
A separate rape charge involving actress Jessica Mann was dropped earlier this year after prosecutors said she could not face testifying a fourth time. Weinstein has already served more than six years in custody as his case cycled through convictions, an overturned verdict and mistrials.
He is also awaiting a new sentencing hearing in a separate Los Angeles rape case, where an appeals court in June upheld his 2022 conviction but vacated his entire 16-year sentence and ordered the trial court to resentence him, ruling that the original term had relied on his since-overturned New York conviction as an aggravating factor.
The former Miramax co-founder, whose producing credits include “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” has denied ever having nonconsensual sex with anyone and is expected to appeal. His health issues in recent years have included chronic myeloid leukemia, diabetes and mobility problems that require him to use a wheelchair in court.
Advertisement Advertisement
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.