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Topics: Crime, US News, Entertainment
Rachel Lang
Topics: Crime, US News, Entertainment
A Los Angeles court has sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in jail after he was convicted by a jury of the rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model in 2013.
The sentence will be added to the more than 20 years worth of jail time he has already been ordered to serve in 2020 in New York on similar offenses.
According to the ABC, Weinstein directly appealed to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B Lench at his sentencing hearing, telling her: "I maintain that I'm innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1."
The woman who he was convicted of raping was present in the courtroom.
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She sobbed as he spoke to the judge.
The woman, only identified as Jane Doe 1, had also spoken to the judge in court about the longstanding harm Weinstein's attack had on her life.
"Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God," she told the court.
"I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me.
She added: "There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage."
The sentencing follows his December conviction, at which Jane Doe 1 revealed he 'forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back'.
"The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein's lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did. I hope Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime," she said, as per Reuters.
In December the Los Angeles Superior Court revealed a hung verdict on several other counts, notably charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Mrs Newsom, who previously disclosed she was Jane Doe 4 in the trial, is a prominent documentary filmmaker and is married to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The jury in the Californian court revealed it was unable to reach a verdict on counts related to Mrs Newsom's allegations.
Elizabeth Fegan, Mrs Newsom's legal representative, said in a statement as per Reuters: "While we are heartened that the jury found Weinstein guilty on some of the counts, we are disappointed that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on Jane Doe 4.
"She will continue to fight for all women and all survivors of abuse against a system that permits the victim to be shamed and re-traumatized in the name of justice."
The jury was also hung over counts pertaining to accusations made by another unnamed woman.
Weinstein, aged 70, will likely die behind bars thanks to the 16 year sentence now added to his 23 years of prison time handed down to him by a New York court.