Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, 74, was handed a 15-year prison term on Wednesday for the sexual assault of former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley.
Before imposing the sentence, Judge Curtis Farber admonished the ex-Miramax founder, branding him a predator who used force to take what he wanted and refused to accept any responsibility for his actions.
“You had it all. Your legacy could have been cemented with greatness, but you threw it all away by assaulting Miriam Haley,” the judge told Weinstein.
The once-powerful Hollywood mogul had appealed for leniency, telling the court he was “not a perfect man” who carried “many regrets,” whilst insisting he was not violent.
Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two of five felony counts in 2020 | GETTY
He shook his head as he was wheeled from the courtroom following sentencing.
His defence team had urged the court to impose a nine-year term, with lawyer Jacob Kaplan warning that a lengthy sentence would likely mean Weinstein dying behind bars.
The 74-year-old is battling heart failure, kidney disease and a blood cancer diagnosis, his lawyers told the judge.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, pressed for a 20-year sentence. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg highlighted Weinstein’s complete absence of remorse and described how he had lured Haley to his SoHo flat before brutally attacking her.
Ms Haley herself delivered an emotional statement to the court, telling the judge the “sexual assault had a devastating effect” on her life.
“It will never go away. I will always be looking over my shoulder, worried about what he’s plotting. He has no remorse,” she said.
The prolonged legal battle, she added, had eroded her spirit and felt like a “life sentence” of its own.
Weinstein was originally convicted in February 2020 of sexually assaulting both Ms Haley and actress Jessica Mann, receiving a 23-year sentence.
The film producer was initially handed a 23-year prison sentence
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GETTY
That verdict was overturned by a New York appeals court, which found that the trial judge, James Burke, had wrongly permitted testimony from women whose accusations did not form part of the charges.
A retrial in 2025 produced a split result: guilty on the Haley count, not guilty on allegations brought by model Kaja Sakola, and a hung jury on the Mann charge.
A third trial on Mann’s accusations — that Weinstein assaulted her in a Midtown Manhattan hotel in March 2023 — also ended without a unanimous verdict after nine hours of deliberation.
Manhattan prosecutors subsequently chose to abandon the outstanding rape charge rather than pursue a fourth trial. Mann, 36, said she could not face testifying again.
Beyond the New York case, Weinstein continues to serve a 16-year sentence in California, where he was found guilty in 2022 of raping and sexually assaulting a model.
A California appellate court rejected his appeal in June but ruled that a lower court must resentence him. No date for that proceeding has yet been set.
Following Wednesday’s sentencing, Judge Farber noted that it would fall to California authorities to decide whether the New York term runs alongside or on top of the Los Angeles conviction.
The sentencing brings a measure of closure to one of the most consequential criminal cases to emerge from the #MeToo movement, though the question of Weinstein’s total time behind bars remains unresolved.