Harvey Weinstein Won’t Face Retrial on Sexual Assault Charges That Left Jurors Hung

Harvey Weinstein will not be retried on the charges of rape and sexual assault that a Los Angeles jury failed to reach a verdict on last year.

According to The Associated Press, prosecutor Paul Thompson announced the decision at a hearing in L.A. on Tuesday, March 14. The judge dismissed the charges and said Weinstein could be returned to New York, where he was previously sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty of similar sexual assault charges. 

Weinstein was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault involving an actress he forced himself on after pushing his way into her L.A. hotel room during a film festival in 2013. He was later sentenced to 16 years in prison, which will be served after his sentence in New York is completed.

The jury, however, failed to reach verdicts on other charges against Weinstein; those included charges of rape and oral copulation related to Jennifer Seibel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and a sexual battery by restraint charge involving Lauren Young. Weinstein was also acquitted on a count of sexual battery against a massage therapist.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Young reportedly said that she was disappointed that prosecutors would not pursue a retrial. Thompson, however, claimed that Weinstein would likely only face an additional year in prison if he was convicted on the one count related to Young’s accusation. Though Thompson said he wanted all victims to get justice, the possible sentence wasn’t worth another trial.

A lawyer for Newsom, Elizabeth Fegan, issued a statement saying, “We respect the prosecution’s decision to not retry Harvey Weinstein on the charges relating to the claims of my client, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The First Partner’s primary intention in coming forward was to ensure that Weinstein spends the rest of his life in prison. While the jury could not reach a verdict on the charges relating to her experience, we believe that her testimony, in chorus with the other brave victims’ testimonies, led to Weinstein’s conviction and the 16-year sentence he faces in California after he serves his New York sentence.”

Fegan added: “Had the court not handed down a fitting sentence, my client would have been ready to support the prosecutors if they opted to retry Weinstein, even considering the enormous emotional toll it would inflict on her.”

Mark Werksman, a lawyer for Weinstein, said, “The District Attorney was wise to dismiss charges they knew they could never prove.” 

A rep for the Los Angeles DA’s office did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. 

Weinstein has continually denied all the allegations against him. He is currently appealing his conviction in New York, and his lawyers plan to appeal his L.A. conviction as well. However, the judge rebuffed his most recent effort to seek a new trial in California.

From Rolling Stone US.