Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial has been declared a mistrial by judge
The re-rape trial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein ended in a mistrial Friday after the jury deadlocked. This is the third trial in the New York rape case.
Weinstein, whose decades-long history of alleged sexual assault roiled the entertainment industry and inspired the #MeToo movement, was convicted of other sex crimes in New York and Los Angeles and is incarcerated at a facility on Rikers Island in Queens. Accordingly Associated PressWeinstein appeared expressionless after the mistrial was announced and court officials escorted him out in a wheelchair.
The mostly male jury spent three days deliberating the rape charge against Weinstein. Jessica Mann, a hairdresser and aspiring actor, said the rape took place at the DoubleTree hotel in Manhattan in 2013. Weinstein’s defense argued that the sexual relationship between Mann and Weinstein, who was married at the time, was consensual.
Weinstein was first convicted of assaulting Mann in 2020, but that verdict was overturned along with another charge in April 2024. In a second trial in New York last summer, Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on Miriam Haley and acquitted former model Kaja Sokola in the same case. The jury indicted Mann on the third charge of raping him.
On Friday, a few hours into the third day of deliberations, jurors sent a note to Judge Curtis Farber saying they had concluded they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Judge Farber instructed the group to continue deliberating. Jurors returned to their closed-door deliberations and emerged more than an hour later with another note: “We don’t think anyone is going to change where they stand.”
A hearing was to be held on June 24 to find out whether prosecutors will hold a fourth trial on the rape charge.
Marc Agnifilo, a high-profile criminal defense attorney hired by Weinstein earlier this year and known for representing Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs, said in an emailed statement to The Times: “We are confident that the prosecutor will not pursue a fourth trial regarding these unprovable allegations.”
District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a statement that his office would consider next steps “in consultation with Ms. Mann and considering Harvey Weinstein’s pending sentencing following last year’s trial conviction for the forcible sexual assault of Miriam Haley.”
“For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann has been fighting for justice. She endured unimaginably painful experiences in front of complete strangers for weeks during three separate hearings,” Bragg said. “His perseverance and courage inspire members of my office and, more importantly, survivors around the world.”
Mann said in an emailed statement to The Times that Friday’s decision to declare a mistrial “does not in any way detract from the truth I have described and the violent crimes that Harvey Weinstein committed against me and many others.”
Mann said he chose to testify at three hearings because he was telling the truth.
Mann continued: “For years I have had to relive some of the most difficult moments of my life when I faced attempts in open court to embarrass, humiliate and discredit me.” “As I came forward through the justice system, I committed myself to the highest standards, transparency and accountability, choosing integrity even when the process exposed me.
“The power of predators remains immense. I deserve justice, so I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of the greater good, a world where predators are not in power.”
