Harvey Weinstein will not face a new trial on deadlocked rape and sexual assault charges, a judge ruled Tuesday, including those based upon the accusations of Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Weinstein was convicted last month on three charges, all based on the testimony of a single accuser, a Russian model and actress known as Jane Doe 1. Three other charges ended in mistrial, and one in acquittal. Weinstein was sentenced last month to 16 years in California prison, time he’ll begin serving when his 23-year sentence is up in New York.
The deadlocked charges included those tied to the testimony of Newsom, Tuesday’s dismissal means the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom will not be brought back to testify again – something she says she never expected to do in the first place when she came forward to authorities in 2017.
The other accuser whose testimony supported charges the judge dismissed Tuesday was Lauren Young, known at trial as Jane Doe 2. She testified that one of Weinstein’s female associates “roped” her into a situation where she wound up alone in a hotel bathroom where Weinstein assaulted her.
The acquitted charge stemmed from the testimony of a massage therapist who testified that Weinstein assaulted her over multiple visits, while also dangling a book deal that never materialized.
Young attended Tuesday’s hearing with her attorney, Gloria Allred, to advocate for a re-trial.
“I think Harvey Weinstein should be punished for every crime,” she said. “Even though he has been convicted in New York and L.A. for crimes against other women … I wanted him to be held accountable for what he did to me.”
Siebel Newsom was not present, but she sent along a statement that was read aloud by Marlene Martinez, one of the prosecutors in the case. “He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” the statement concluded.
With Weinstein at age 70, in poor health, and with 39 years of sentences to serve in two states where the appeals process could drag out for years, that will likely be the case – which lead prosecutor Paul Thompson noted when explaining his office’s decision not to retry the charges. He also said a conviction on those charges would have only added a year or so to Weinstein’s total sentence.
