Disgraced Hollywood Filmmaker, Harvey Weinstein’s Children Disown Him Following His Conviction For Rape
Like Billy Cosby, like Harvey Weinstein. Disgraced top Hollywood TV Producer and filmmaker Harvey Weinstein whose sexual abuse of aspiring young female actors sparked the #MeToo movement, has been found guilty of third degree rape and a criminal sexual act and faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted by a New York Supreme court Jury on Monday afternoon Feb. 24th.
Weinstein was convicted for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 but acquitted of three serious charges of being a serial sexual predator which would have given him a life time imprisonment sentence.
READ ALSO: See How Disgraced American Dad, Bill Cosby, Is Championing A New Cause On Parenting
The jury of of seven men and five women found Weinstein guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree for forcing oral sex on former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and also convicted Weinstein of rape in the third degree about an incident of him raping an unnamed woman in a New York hotel in 2013.
The count carries a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of up to 25 years. Weinstein did not make any facial reactions after the jury announced their verdict after five days of serious court deliberations in a stunning judgement set to ring bells around the entertainment industry.
Harvey was facing five charges in a Manhattan, New York court, and after being acquitted of the three more serious charges will be transported to jail immediately while he awaits his sentencing.
READ ALSO:Bill Cosby Found Guilty in Sexual Assault Trial | Wife, Camille Reacts For The First Time
His older children, Lily, 25, Emma, 22, and Ruth, 17, who were born during his 20-year marriage to Eve Chilton are reportedly not in contact with their father.
Weinstein’s defence lawyer, Donna Rotunno confirmed the eldest three are not in contact with him, but gushed about his relationship with his youngest children India, nine, and six-year-old Dashiell.
“His oldest daughters don’t speak to him. So I mean it’s horrific. The ripple effect of someone losing their freedom is beyond what any of us could comprehend,”
she said.
“He’s been seeing the younger kids their whole lives. They live next door to each other, he has a great relationship with his younger children.”
Ms. Rotunno claimed that India and Dashiell “rely” on their father, who will be staying at the notorious New York jail on Rikers Island until his sentencing on March 11.
“The thought of his two young children who rely on him on a daily basis. This is not a joke… this is real life,”
said his lawyer.
In 2017, Weinstein and his second ex-wife Georgina Chapman split after women started coming forward to accuse the former movie mogul of sexual assault and rape.
“My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions,”
she said in a statement at the time the Me Too movement was starting to gain momentum.
She also opened up in May 2018 about how her children were dealing with the shock of their father being accused of multiple sexual offences.
“At first I couldn’t because I was too shocked. And I somehow felt that I didn’t deserve it. And then I realized: This has happened. I have to own it. I have to move forward,”
she told Vogue.
“There was a part of me that was terribly naive – clearly, so naive. I have moments of rage, I have moments of confusion, I have moments of disbelief! And I have moments when I just cry for my children. What are their lives going to be?”
She tearfully went on:
“What are people going to say to them? It’s like, they love their dad. They love him. I just can’t bear it for them.”