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Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, convicted of rape and sexual assault against two women Monday, was taken to a locked unit at Bellevue Hospital following the verdict, the Associated Press reported.
Weinstein, 67, on Monday was found guilty of two charges by a jury of seven men and five women. One related to Weinstein raping an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013. The other involved Weinstein sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 by forcibly performing oral sex on her at his apartment. The charges carry up to 29 years in prison. The jury cleared Weinstein of three other charges, including predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree.
The former Hollywood studio boss was then hauled off without the walker he used through most of the trial. Weinstein was being moved to Rikers Island to be jailed until his March 11 sentencing when he was rerouted to the hospital for chest pains and high blood pressure, Yahoo Entertainment reported.
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. saluted the women who came forward against Weinstein, saying they “changed the course of history in the fight against sexual violence.”
“This is the new landscape for survivors of sexual assault in America, I believe, and it is a new day,” Vance Jr. said. “It is a new day because Harvey Weinstein has finally been held accountable for crimes he committed.”
Weinstein’s lawyers said they will appeal.
“Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” defense attorney Donna Rotunno said. “He knows that we will continue to fight for him, and we know that this is not over.” Another of his lawyers, Arthur Aidala, quoted Weinstein as telling as his legal team: “I’m innocent. I’m innocent. I’m innocent. How could this happen in America?”