Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein finally moved to prison
Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has finally entered a jail cell after undergoing heart surgery in hospital overnight.
Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has finally been shifted to his jail cell after undergoing heart surgery overnight at Bellevue Hospital, the NY Post reports.
“He had a heart stent put in last night,” a source familiar with the procedure said on Thursday local time. “It took four hours.”
Weinstein, 67, was discharged from the hospital in the early afternoon and transferred to the North Infirmary at Rikers ahead of next week’s sentencing, according to sources.
“He’s nervous but he isn’t in control and has to deal with it,” a source said.
The convicted rapist was found guilty of rape and criminal sexual act on February 24.
Following the verdict, Weinstein was being transported by authorities from the courthouse to Rikers, when he suffered heart palpitations and high blood pressure and was taken instead to Bellevue. He has been holed up in a private hospital room there ever since. Bellevue is known for its psychiatric facility, but it also serves as a hospital for jail inmates.
RELATED: Harvey Weinstein to be held in infamous facility
After five days of deliberations last month, a jury unanimously agreed that Weinstein was guilty of raping an aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on another woman, TV and film production assistant Mimi Haleyi, in 2006.
Weinstein was convicted of first degree sexual assault and third degree rape. He is facing up to 29 years behind bars and will be sentenced on March 11.
The first charge carries a sentence of 5 to 25 years in prison and the second carries a minimum probationary period and a maximum four year jail term.
Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala told news.com.au his team will appeal the convictions which he described as “disappointing”.
“Harvey was unbelievably stoic and strong and powerful,” Mr Aidala said of his client’s response to the verdict.
“The words he said over and over again to me is: ‘I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m innocent. How could this happen in America?’”
RELATED: Weinstein is an ‘innocent man’
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Weinstein’s legal team tried to keep him on house arrest and, citing health issues, told the court he requires daily injections in his eyes to avoid going blind. They said he also requires medical attention following unsuccessful back surgery. The judge refused but indicated he would request that Weinstein be held in the infirmary.
“We are working on assuring that Mr Weinstein is brought to Rikers’ Island’s North infirmary unit (NIU) at the Anna M Kross Centre complex or in protective custody so that he can get the best medical supervision and care possible,” his lawyer said.
Outside court, lead defence lawyer Donna Rotunno told reporters “the fight is not over”.
“Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” she said.
In a press conference at the time, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr described Weinstein as a “vicious, serial sexual predator who used his power to threaten, rape, assault and trick, humiliate and silence his victims”.
Rose McGowan addresses the media outside a New York court on day #1 of Harvey Weinstein’s trial @newscomauHQ @rosemcgowan pic.twitter.com/LOJsfX3iaX
— Megan Palin (@Megan_Palin) January 6, 2020
A torrent of allegations against Weinstein in October 2017 spawned the #MeToo movement.
In total, more than 100 women have accused the father-of-five of sexual misconduct dating back decades. Most of the accusers, who refer to themselves as “the Silence Breakers”, weren’t involved in his prosecution. A total of six accusers testified as part of a prosecution effort to show he used the same tactics to victimise many others over the years.
In often emotional testimony stretching over three weeks, Weinstein’s accusers described in explicit detail how he lured them to hotels in New York and Los Angeles on the pretence of promoting their acting careers before sexually assaulting them.
In her closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said that Weinstein treated the women who accused him like “complete disposables” and made them feel ashamed even though he was the one who was at fault.
“What he wants to do is he wants to get them in a situation where they feel stupid. If you feel stupid and belittled, belittled, stupid people do not complain,” the prosecutor told jurors.
BREAKING: A New York jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty on two counts - criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) February 24, 2020
The following is a statement in response from 23 #Silencebreakers: pic.twitter.com/fXtoZ3Evzc
His trial was considered a watershed moment for the cause and has been watched closely by #MeToo activists, many of whom doubted for years that Weinstein’s alleged mistreatment of women would ever result in legal action.
Weinstein is also scheduled to face trial in Los Angeles, where he is charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents in 2013. He has not yet entered a plea in that case.
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