Harvey Weinstein, a former movie mogul, will not face a fourth trial on a New York rape charge. Prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser, Jessica Mann, said she could not bear to testify again.
Background
Mann, a hairstylist and actor, had spent days on the witness stand at all three trials, telling jurors that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel in 2013. She had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with Weinstein, who was married at the time, but said she repeatedly tried to leave and said no to any sexual activity as he cornered her in a hotel room.
Weinstein denied the charge and said everything that happened between him and Mann was consensual. His lawyers maintained that all his accusers had completely consensual sexual liaisons with a movie studio boss who could help them in their careers.
The New York rape charge was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison. However, Weinstein, 74, has already served more time than that and remains behind bars. He is due to serve 16 years in California, where he was convicted of raping another woman, and is appealing both convictions.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
