Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after being found guilty

Los Angeles: Harvey Weinstein has been taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after complaining of chest pains, according to his representative.

It comes hours after the 67-year-old former Hollywood producer was convicted in New York of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a one-time aspiring actress, in 2013.

An ambulance carrying Harvey Weinstein is escorted from a Manhattan courthouse.Credit: AP

Weinstein was supposed to be transferred to the jail on Rikers Island, but was diverted to Bellevue.

He was remanded into custody on Monday morning, US time. He had been freed on $US2 million ($3 million) bond, but Justice James Burke ordered him held in jail prior to sentencing on March 11.

Bellevue is known for its psychiatric facility, but it also serves as a hospital for jail inmates.

His attorney, Donna Rotunno, urged the judge to allow him to remain free, saying that he recently had unsuccessful back surgery and requires shots in order to keep from going blind.

While the New York chapter of Weinstein's criminal prosecution is over, pending appeals and sentencing, the legal saga will soon move to Los Angeles.

Harvey Weinstein, once one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, has been found guilty or sexual assault and rape.Credit: Bloomberg

Last month, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey filed charges of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of restraint and sexual battery by restraint.

The charges were filed on the eve of Weinstein's New York trial, so he has yet to appear in downtown LA.

At the time of the filing, Lacey explained the timing of the charges.

"We were working on investigating those cases. In regard to the victims in this case and other sexual assault cases, it was very challenging to get those victims to open up and tell us what they needed to tell us," she said. "For some, it was very embarrassing - terrifying - and so [we] told them we were just working to get the evidence we need to get to court."

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.Credit: AP

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office said Weinstein's March 11 New York sentencing will take place before any proceedings initiate in California.

Weinstein has been charged with four counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles County, stemming from accusations brought by a pair of women who say the movie mogul attacked them in hotels in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills in 2013.

One of the women is a former model and actress who described Weinstein's alleged assault to the Los Angeles Times in 2017, according to her attorney, David Ring.

She said the first assault took place at Mr. C's Beverly Hills hotel in February 2013 after she met Weinstein briefly at the Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest. Weinstein "became very aggressive and demanding" while asking her to disrobe, the woman previously said.

The woman said that she showed Weinstein pictures of her children and begged him to stop.

"He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do," she said.

In a motion asking a judge to set Weinstein's bail in Los Angeles County at $US5 million ($7.56 million), prosecutors said the woman did not immediately report the assault to police because Weinstein threatened to kill her. She did report the alleged attack to three close confidants in 2013, however, including her priest, law enforcement sources previously told The Times.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.Credit: AP

Just days later, the second accuser said she had a business meeting with Weinstein and another woman at a hotel in West Los Angeles when he convinced them to visit his hotel suite, according to the bail motion. Once upstairs, the victim "unwittingly" followed Weinstein into a bathroom and the other woman closed the door, trapping her inside, court records show.

At that point, Weinstein disrobed and showered briefly before undressing her, according to the motion. Prosecutors accused Weinstein of groping the woman while masturbating, court records show.

Weinstein's conviction of sexual assault and rape by a New York jury was considered a milestone verdict for the #MeToo movement that inspired women to go public with misconduct allegations against powerful men.

Weinstein was acquitted on the most serious charges that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life.

Justice James Burke ordered Weinstein to be held in custody immediately and he was put in handcuffs by officers in court. Officers helped Weinstein unsteadily to his feet before leading him away.

He faces up to 25 years in prison on the sexual assault conviction. The sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 11.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said following the verdict: "It’s a new day because Weinstein has finally been held accountable." He praised the jurors. "Your verdict turned a page in our criminal justice system.

During the trial, Harvey Weinstein often arrived at court using a walker.Credit: AP

"To the survivors: I owe and we owe an immense debt of courage to you," Vance said.

The jury acquitted Weinstein on two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carried a potential life sentence, and first-degree rape of Mann. A conviction on predatory sexual assault would have meant the jury had concluded he was a repeat sexual offender.

He was convicted of third-degree rape, which carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.

"This trial - and the jury’s decision today - marks a new era of justice, not just for the Silence Breakers, who spoke out at great personal risk, but for all survivors of harassment, abuse, and assault at work," said Tina Tchen, the president and chief executive of Time’s Up, one of the groups that advocated on behalf of women who made allegations.

In the minutes after the verdict was read in court, Weinstein was seen talking to his lead lawyer Donna Rotunno. He appeared expressionless.

During his trial, Weinstein often appeared feeble, entering the courthouse using a walker. He sometimes leaned on his lead attorney for support. Critics had accused Weinstein of playing up medical problems to win sympathy but Weinstein said he had back injuries.

"He's taken some good acting tips," actress Rose McGowan said at the start of the trial on January 6 while staging a protest near the courthouse along with actress Rosanna Arquette and other Weinstein accusers.

Weinstein made his mark with critically acclaimed films such as The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.

More than 80 women, including famous actresses, had accused him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades. He had denied the allegations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.

Paul Callan, a former New York prosecutor who is not involved in the case, said Weinstein had strong grounds to argue the verdict should be overturned on appeal because of bias, noting that one of the jurors was the author of a forthcoming book on teenage girls and "predatory" older men.

During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who had manipulated women with promises to open doors in Hollywood, coaxing them to hotel rooms or private apartments and then overpowering and violently attacking them.

"The man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, he was a rapist," Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast said during opening arguments.

Seated at the defence table, Weinstein often appeared impassive, though at times he looked intently at his attorneys when they cross-examined his accusers.

'Jekyll and Hyde'

During the many weeks of trial, the prosecution methodically elicited graphic testimony from several accusers, including Haleyi, who said Weinstein invited her to his SoHo home after she had worked on one of his television productions.

Mimi Haleyi testified that Harvey Weinstein raped her in his New York home in 2006. Credit: AP

After she arrived, Weinstein backed her into a bedroom, held her down on the bed and forced himself on her orally, yanking out her tampon, Haleyi told jurors.

A one-time aspiring actress, Mann said that soon after meeting Weinstein she entered into an "extremely degrading" relationship with him that never included intercourse until, she alleged, he raped her in 2013.

She described Weinstein as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character: He was charming in public but often showed terrifying anger when they were alone, Mann said.

At one point, she started sobbing uncontrollably on the stand, prompting the judge to end testimony early for the day.

Weinstein was charged with assaulting Haleyi and Mann, but prosecutors bolstered their case by calling several other accusers as witnesses.

Annabella Sciorra, centre, gave evidence during the trial.Credit: Bloomberg

One of these women, Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, told jurors Weinstein came into her apartment one winter night in 1993 or 1994 and raped her.

Though the accusation was too old to be charged as a separate crime, prosecutors offered it to show Weinstein was a repeat sexual offender.

Three other women - costume designer Dawn Dunning, model Tarale Wulff and actress Lauren Young - testified that they were enticed into meeting Weinstein for professional reasons and then groped or raped.

Testimony of "prior bad acts" is generally not allowed in criminal trials, but an exception to the law allowed prosecutors to call these women to show Weinstein had a particular intention or a signature pattern of behaviour.

Legal experts said the women provided powerful evidence that was difficult for the defence to overcome.

Dunning testified that the producer groped her in 2004 and offered her movie roles in exchange for three-way sex with him and his assistant, which she refused.

Young, a model and actress, testified that the producer trapped her in a hotel bathroom in 2013, masturbated in front of her while groping her breasts, and told her: "This is what all the actresses do to make it."

'Last line of defence'

Throughout the case, the defence said regret drove the accusers to take consensual incidents and reframe them as crimes.

Weinstein's lawyers zeroed in on friendly messages and ongoing contact between the women and Weinstein.

During cross-examination of Haleyi, for example, the defence showed her a message she sent Weinstein signed "lots of love" after her alleged attack.

Defence lawyers repeatedly suggested that Mann willingly had sex with Weinstein to advance her career.

Reuters, Los Angeles Times