Harvey Weinstein news: Celebrity accusers welcome guilty verdict as he faces up to 29 years in jail for rape

Harvey Weinstein arrives at court in New York

The jury presiding over Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial announced it reached a verdict on Monday after having initially indicated it was split on the top charges against the disgraced Hollywood film producer.

The jury found Weinstein guilty of sexual assault after five days of debate, bringing the film producer to justice after he had been accused by scores of women over the years of luring them into hotel rooms with the promise of business opportunities, to then sexually assault them.

Weinstein was previously regarded as one of the most influential producers in film, and the explosive allegations against him marked a historic turning point during the creation of the #MeToo movement.

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Key Points

• Jury finds Weinstein guilty of committing a "criminal sexual act" and third-degree rape
• Disgraced film producer faces maximum of 25 years in prison
• Judge sets sentencing in sexual assault trial for 11 March
• Weinstein accusers speak out after trial ends with guilty verdict

[24 February 2020 18:00 · Chris Riotta]

A prominent group of women who came forward with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, known as the Silence Breakers, have released the following statement regarding Harvey Weinstein's verdict: 

“While it is disappointing that today’s outcome does not deliver the true, full justice that so many women deserve, Harvey Weinstein will now forever be known as a convicted serial predator. This conviction would not be possible without the testimony of the courageous women and the many women who have spoken out. Despite intimidation from Weinstein’s legal team, they courageously shared their stories with the jury, the courtroom and the world. This has been a flawed process from the beginning but has further exposed the difficulties women face in coming forward to tell the truth about powerful abusers. Their bravery will forever be remembered in history. Our fight is far from over. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has brought charges against Weinstein and we hope he will be met with swift justice. As we have said from our very first statement together as Silence Breakers: we refuse to be silenced and will continue to speak out until this unrepentant abuser is brought to justice.”

[24 February 2020 18:15 · Chris Riotta]

Ronan Farrow, whose reporting helped spark the #MeToo movement and largely uncovered scores of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, has spoken out about the disgraced film producer's guilty verdict:

"Today’s outcome in Harvey Weinstein’s New York trial is the result of the decisions of multiple women to come forward to journalists and to prosecutors at great personal cost and risk. Please keep those women in your thoughts today."

[24 February 2020 18:35 · Chris Riotta]

Here's more on the Silence Breakers and their response to Harvey Weinstein's partial guilty verdict:

[24 February 2020 18:55 · Chris Riotta]

Mira Sorvino, one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers, has tweeted the following message about the disgraced film producer's guilty verdict: 

[24 February 2020 19:15 · Chris Riotta]

The Independent's Clemence Michallon has been covering the #MeToo movement at length and reported on the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault trial from the courtroom where it all went down. Now, she's out with a new piece on the historic guilty verdict, and all that led to this moment. 

[24 February 2020 19:35 · Chris Riotta]

Larissa Gomes, one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers, wrote for The Independent about the female attorney called in to defend the disgraced film producer during his trial: 

"What I know about Donna Rotunno is that she is a Chicago lawyer who has made a career of defending these types of cases, the types where men stand accused of sex crimes including rape and assault. She has only lost one case so far. Female lawyers are often sought out for sexual misconduct cases because the male defendants feel they will be lent more legitimacy when people see they are being defended by a woman.

There’s no denying that Rotunno has leveraged the shock factor of her own existence: By defending a man accused by so many women of sex crimes, she stands as the last obstacle between Weinstein’s accusers and jail time. She is not the obstacle you might expect. But she is the obstacle we got."

[24 February 2020 19:55 · Chris Riotta]

Rosanna Arquette, one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers, tweeted the following after the guilty verdict was announced: "Gratitude to the brave women who've testified and to the jury for seeing through the dirty tactics of the defense.

She added: "We will change the laws in the future so that rape victims are heard and not discredited and so that it's easier for people to report their rapes."

Here's The Independent's Phil Thomas with more: 

[24 February 2020 20:00 · Chris Riotta]

Here's what Christabel Nsiah-Buadi found when she spoke to Hollywood insiders about Harvey Weinstein's guilty verdict and what it means for the film industry: 

[24 February 2020 20:10 · Chris Riotta]

This concludes today's live coverage on the Harvey Weinstein verdict. Thanks for tuning in as The Independent brought the latest news and analysis as it came in. Scroll through the updates as they came in below.