Harvey Weinstein rape case ends in mistrial after jury deadlock

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A New York judge declared a mistrial Friday in Harvey Weinstein’s rape case from the #MeToo era after jurors reached an impasse. The case centers on prosecutors’ claim that Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, in 2013 while Weinstein was still married. The judge’s decision followed jury deliberations that left the panel unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

The trial was the third time the case has gone to court for a determination on Mann’s allegations. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter Mann described was consensual, while Mann testified that she experienced a hotel-room encounter in which he forced himself upon her. Nearly three weeks of testimony was presented to the jury, including testimony from Mann, and Weinstein chose not to take the stand.

Prosecutors’ case focused on a 2013 encounter, described as occurring during a relationship that began while Weinstein was married and Mann was decades younger. In earlier proceedings, the case had unfolded through multiple reversals and retrials, with appeals courts and new juries revisiting key issues before the matter returned to court again.

The mistrial came after deliberations that the jury itself characterized as unlikely to change. On the third day of deliberations, jurors told the judge they were stuck, and he instructed them to continue deliberating. The jury later sent another note saying, “We feel that no one is going to change where they stand,” and the judge declared a mistrial as the jurors failed to agree unanimously.

The case had already ended once before without a verdict after the second trial, with jurors stopping deliberations on Mann’s rape charge when the foreperson refused to participate further, which led to the retrial that ended Friday. During this most recent deadlock, some jurors questioned the credibility of Mann’s testimony, and one juror, Josh Hadar, said Mann had an “incredible memory” in her prosecution testimony but “forgot a lot of things” when questioned by defense attorneys.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg said prosecutors will consult Mann about another trial and also take into account what happens to Weinstein when he is sentenced for his prior conviction from the last trial. A hearing was set for June 24 for prosecutors to decide whether to seek a fourth trial.

Weinstein is still in custody. He had been serving a 23-year sentence in New York after his initial conviction in 2020, but that verdict was overturned on appeal. After the reversal, he remained behind bars because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years; he is currently being held at Rikers Island while awaiting further legal proceedings.

In related cases, Weinstein was convicted last year of criminal sex act involving forcing oral sex on a TV and movie producer and production assistant, Miriam Haley, nearly two decades ago. Haley testified that Weinstein assaulted her in July 2006 after inviting her to stop by his SoHo apartment before a flight; Weinstein is appealing that conviction.

In Los Angeles, a December 2022 trial resulted in convictions for one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault involving an Italian actor and model. The woman testified that Weinstein arrived uninvited at her hotel room during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to the Oscars and assaulted her.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann and Haley have done.