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Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

Since handing himself in to a New York police station in May 2018, following multiple accusations of rape and sexual assault, Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein's legal case has been high-profile news. Today it has been announced that he will serve 23 years in jail, after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault a fortnight ago.

Sky have reported that Weinstein told the court that he had "deep remorse" for his actions, but said he'd been accused of "things that none of us [men] understood". It has also been reported that when accusations were first made against him, that he sent a vicious email out involving one A-list actress and pleaded with other influential businessmen, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, for help.

Weinstein's charges include one criminal sexual act and one "third degree rape" (this is a lesser charge than first-degree rape, which he was acquitted of). The criminal sexual act saw the former Hollywood mogul force oral sex on a former Project Runway production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006.

Weinstein was on trial for a total of five counts, meaning he was been acquitted of three others (including the two most serious of predatory sexual assault, which involved The Sopranos actress, Annabella Sciorra, and of first degree rape). Six women testified during the trial, claiming that he assaulted them, according to The New York Times.

During the trial, Weinstein's attorney Donna Rotunno, who defended him made headlines of her own, too – thanks to her controversial views on sexual consent contracts. Model Gigi Hadid was initially considered to sit on the jury, but was dismissed after it emerged that she had met some of those involved in the accusations.

Photo credit: www.RoyRochlin.com - Getty Images
Photo credit: www.RoyRochlin.com - Getty Images

The allegations against Weinstein, who worked on hundreds of well known movies, including Kill Bill, Good Will Hunting and Lord Of The Rings, sparked the global movement #MeToo. Women (and men), including high profile names, around the world took to social media to air their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault, in the workplace and beyond.

When allegations were first made against Weinstein, celebrities such as The Obamas, Emma Watson and Lena Dunham spoke out condemning him.

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