Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
1 Woman's Story of Rape Convinced All Weinstein Trial Jurors
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
December 21, 2022

Share

Most of the jurors at Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial were ready to convict him of crimes related to three of the four women he was charged with raping or sexually assaulting.

Yet after weeks of deliberation the eight men and four women voted unanimously to convict him of crimes against only one: a Russian-born model and actor known as Jane Doe 1. She lived in Rome and was visiting California for a film festival at age 34 in 2013, when she said the now-disgraced film mogul appeared uninvited at her Los Angeles hotel room door in the middle of the night.

The jurors were released from service and allowed to talk publicly after more than two months Tuesday, when they could not reach a unanimous decision on two aggravating factors that might have made for a higher sentence. Their deliberations took nine days spanning more than two weeks, but those who spoke to reporters said the talks were never contentious.

Weinstein was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against Jane Doe 1. He now faces up to 18 years in prison in California to go with a 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York.

Jurors said that Jane Doe 1’s composure, and the fact that she did not contact Weinstein after he raped her, allowed the divided group to reach consensus on her accusations.

“I thought Jane Doe 1 was very convincing in her story,” said one juror, a 62-year-old man who works in banking and only provided his first name, Michael, because he sought to maintain privacy amid the publicity surrounding the case.

The physical and technical evidence surrounding Jane Doe 1 was some of the thinnest at the trial, but jurors were told that under the law, if they found an accuser’s story credible, that alone could be enough to convict.

They acquitted Weinstein on a count of sexual battery against a massage therapist. They were deadlocked, with 10 of 12 voting for guilt, on a count of sexual battery against model Lauren Young; and voting 8-4 in favor of conviction on rape and sexual assault counts involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Associated Press does not name people who have said they were sexually abused, unless they come forward publicly or have given consent through their attorneys, as Young and Siebel Newsom have.

Jane Doe 1 only one among them who had no further direct dealings with Weinstein or his representatives after the incident. She testified she had barely known who he was, having been introduced only briefly at the film festival, and wanted nothing from him. Others, including Siebel Newsom, had friendly email exchanges with Weinstein or sought out future meetings after their incidents, a point the defense pounded in their cross-examinations and closing arguments.

That resonated with some jurors.

Michael said he voted to convict on the Jane Doe 1 counts, but reluctantly voted to acquit on the counts involving Siebel Newsom. The difference, he said, was the women’s “subsequent action.”

“In a 2 ½ year period she had sent Mr. Weinstein over 35 emails,” he said of Siebel Newsom. “She wanted access to Harvey Weinstein. It sounded like she wanted access to a lot of his resources. It raised a reasonable doubt in my mind.”

Weinstein has repeatedly denied engaging in any non-consensual sex. His lawyers called some of the encounters in the charges consensual and others flat-out fabricated, including the story told by Jane Doe 1. They pointed out that prosecutors had not even produced independent evidence to place Weinstein at her hotel.

“Jane Doe 1 is lying. Period,” Weinstein lawyer Alan Jackson said in his closing argument.

One juror suggested that the broad statement was undermined by defense arguments that engaged with the details of Jane Doe 1’s account.

“I think Jackson’s last comment where Harvey just wasn’t there, hurt him,” said the juror, Arnold Esqueda, who works as director of security for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “They were defending all these things, and then they just say he’s not there. Well they should have just said he’s not there.”

He said he and other jurors made that point to a “very old school” man on the jury who who “decided that he was going vote guilty on that one. He stayed pretty much not guilty on the rest.”

While tearful at times, Jane Doe 1’s testimony was restrained and straightforward in comparison to some that followed. She spoke slowly with a Russian accent, and made nearly no use of a translator on hand.

Esqueda said the intensely emotional testimony of Siebel Newsom, who was screaming through tears at times during her testimony, might have been too much for some fellow jurors. The panel was divided 6-6 on the counts involving her when he suggested getting a read-back of her testimony from the court reporter.

“She had a little drama,” Esqueda said. “So I suggested let’s re-read it, and I think after we read it it switched a couple of people in her favor, without the drama.”

Changes over time in the massage therapist’s story helped lead jurors to acquit on that count, Michael said.

Judge Lisa Lench tentatively scheduled Weinstein’s sentencing for Jan. 9 after his attorneys asked that it be done promptly.

But Lench said it might not happen so quickly given the issues surrounding the case, including prosecutors’ pending decision on whether or not to retry the deadlocked counts.

“We’ll need to consult the victims first and foremost,” Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said.

He asked the judge if other Weinstein accusers, including some who testified against him at trial but were not part of the charges, and the women whose counts were deadlocked, might give victim impact statements at the sentencing.

Lench promptly rejected the idea.

“I’m not going to make this an open forum on all of the allegations that were presented in this trial,” she said.

“So it’ll just be Jane Doe 1 then,” Thompson replied.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Proclamation Banning Travel From 12 Countries, CBS News Reports

DON'T MISS

Sunnyvale Pitmaster Smokes Fresno BBQ Competition for Golden Ticket to World Championships

DON'T MISS

What We Know About the Colorado Attack on Israeli Hostage Demonstrators

DON'T MISS

Visalia Motorists Take Note: Traffic Shift Coming to Riggin Avenue

DON'T MISS

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

DON'T MISS

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

DON'T MISS

Nebraska Is the Latest State to Ban Transgender Students From Girls’ Sports

DON'T MISS

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Demanding an Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

International Basketball Comes to Fresno: Armenia vs. Costa Rica

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: A New Research Hub in Southeast Fresno?

UP NEXT

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Deanna Michelle Whitworth

UP NEXT

2 More Attacks on Jews Heighten Concerns About Security in and Around US Synagogues

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested in Connection With Deadly California Fertility Clinic Bombing

UP NEXT

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

UP NEXT

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Parolee After Officer-Involved Shooting, Standoff

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: James William Johnson

UP NEXT

Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Assault Trial to Conclude With Closing Arguments

UP NEXT

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

Visalia Motorists Take Note: Traffic Shift Coming to Riggin Avenue

4 hours ago

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

4 hours ago

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

4 hours ago

Nebraska Is the Latest State to Ban Transgender Students From Girls’ Sports

4 hours ago

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Demanding an Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

4 hours ago

International Basketball Comes to Fresno: Armenia vs. Costa Rica

6 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: A New Research Hub in Southeast Fresno?

7 hours ago

Fresno’s Southeast Plan Has a $2.2B Price Tag for Phase 1. Can the City Afford It?

8 hours ago

Trump: Putin Said Russia Would Respond to Ukraine Drone Attacks

8 hours ago

It’s Expensive to Become a Teacher in California. This Bill Would Pay Those Who Try

8 hours ago

Trump Signs Proclamation Banning Travel From 12 Countries, CBS News Reports

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning travel from certain countries, CBS News reported on Wednesday, citing administrati...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Trump Signs Proclamation Banning Travel From 12 Countries, CBS News Reports

2 hours ago

Sunnyvale Pitmaster Smokes Fresno BBQ Competition for Golden Ticket to World Championships

3 hours ago

What We Know About the Colorado Attack on Israeli Hostage Demonstrators

4 hours ago

Visalia Motorists Take Note: Traffic Shift Coming to Riggin Avenue

4 hours ago

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

Fresno clovis caleb quick
4 hours ago

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

4 hours ago

Nebraska Is the Latest State to Ban Transgender Students From Girls’ Sports

4 hours ago

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Demanding an Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend