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Jurors deadlocked in Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape retrial on Friday, prompting Judge Curtis Farber to declare a mistrial and leaving the Manhattan rape charge in limbo while prosecutors decide whether to pursue another trial. The Associated Press reported that deliberations began Wednesday, and that after the jury sent two notes in 90 minutes saying it was stuck, the judge declared the mistrial. Weinstein, 74, showed little reaction as he was ushered from court.
The mistrial marked another stop in a case that has been tried three times so far. Weinstein has been convicted of other sex crimes on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, but the New York rape charge now sits unresolved. Prosecutors were considering whether to try the case a fourth time, with some jurors expressing outside court that nine of 12 jurors wanted to acquit Weinstein.
Weinstein’s attorneys said later that they were pleased with the outcome. In comments reported by the AP, attorney Marc Agnifilo said, “Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going to keep fighting,” and he added that the defense believed it had “outstanding” prospects if the case is retried.
The jury’s deliberations centered on whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, an allegation the defense disputed as consensual. The case involved events Mann described as occurring in 2013 during a relationship that took place while Weinstein was then married and Mann was decades younger. The majority-male Manhattan jury weighed Mann’s account and the defense’s arguments that the encounter was consensual.
Juror accounts described doubts focused on Mann’s testimony and perceived inconsistencies. The AP reported that juror Josh Hadar, 57, said “the prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story,” and that although he did not reach his view easily, “it just seemed that there was enough reasonable doubt” to favor acquittal. Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, said she studied feminism and felt well versed in #MeToo but still could not overcome uncertainties about Mann’s account, saying: “There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it.”
Outside court, Mann responded to the mistrial by saying it did not change what she said she endured. In a statement, Mann said the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told.” She added, “I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good,” while the AP reported that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed her “perseverance and bravery” and said prosecutors will consult her about next steps. Prosecutors are due to say next month whether they will retry the case.
Mann’s testimony described meeting Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when she hoped to advance acting opportunities. She testified that his intimate overtures initially discomfited her, but that she later acceded and decided to pursue a relationship, according to the AP. She told jurors that she made it clear she did not want sex on March 18, 2013, after she said Weinstein unexpectedly got a room at a Manhattan hotel where she was staying with a friend.
According to the AP’s account of Mann’s testimony, Mann said she told Weinstein “no” repeatedly and tried to leave, but that he slammed the door, grabbed her arms and ordered her to undress. Mann alleged that she was scared and ultimately stopped resisting, and that Weinstein raped her. The AP also reported that Weinstein’s lawyers highlighted a private note Mann wrote herself two days later; the note, the AP said, discussed her conflicting feelings about becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with a man she did not name.
Weinstein did not testify, the AP reported. His lawyers argued that Mann was a willing partner in what they described as a close, supportive relationship that opened doors for her in show business, and that she turned on him after he became an outcast. The AP said evidence showed Mann continued to see and communicate with Weinstein in the months and years after the New York encounter, including emails and testimony, and that Weinstein helped with opportunities such as auditions and a hairstyling job.
The AP reported that Mann did not sue Weinstein, but that after his 2020 conviction she filed for and received about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund set up during his company’s bankruptcy. Weinstein’s lawyers did not mention that payout during the trial, according to the AP.
The case returned for a third trial after earlier legal developments. The AP reported that Weinstein was convicted of the New York rape charge in 2020, and that an appeals court overturned that verdict, setting up jury deliberations that ended in a mistrial in 2025. Weinstein’s advocates have said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and that he “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone,” the AP reported, setting up another dispute over whether jurors could reach unanimity in the latest retrial.