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Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape

Harvey Weinstein, whose prolific sexual violence against aspiring young women actors sparked the #MeToo movement, has been brought to justice after a New York jury found him guilty of two of the five charges he faced.

The jury of seven men and five women at the New York supreme court took five days to reach their verdict. They found the defendant guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree for forcing oral sex on the former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.

The count carries a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of up to 25 years.

The jury also convicted Weinstein of rape in the third degree. This relates to him raping a woman in a New York hotel in 2013. This count carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison and no minimum, though it requires Weinstein to register as a sex offender.

Weinstein was acquitted of three further charges, including the two most serious counts of predatory sexual assault which carried a possible life sentence and an alternative count of rape in the first degree.

Katie Russell, for Rape Crisis England & Wales:

"This is undoubtedly a victory of sorts and a cause for some celebration. It is a testament to the phenomenal strength and tenacity not only of the women Weinstein has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting, but of all six women who testified and the very many more who have spoken out. 

At the same time, we must not forget the millions of women and girls, men and boys subjected to sexual violence and abuse whose voices will never be heard in court, who are denied the pursuit of justice.

We cannot be complacent and we should not rest until no powerful man is ever permitted to abuse their position of privilege in this way again."

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