On Tuesday, Los Angeles prosecutors announced that they will not retry Harvey Weinstein on counts involving two women that left jurors deadlocked, following his conviction for the rape and sexual assault of Italian model and actor Evgeniya Chernyshova.
The decision was announced at a hearing in downtown Los Angeles by Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson, who stated that Weinstein would be returned to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case.
Weinstein’s attorney, Jacqueline Sparagna, reiterated that her client maintains his innocence of the charges.
The Los Angeles jury had been unable to reach unanimous verdicts on a rape count and a sexual assault count involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom and a sexual battery count involving model Lauren Young.
Young had testified at Weinstein’s New York trial as a supporting witness, but was not part of the charges there as she was in California.
Ten of the 12 jurors agreed to convict Weinstein of the sexual battery charge involving Young, but Thompson cited the difficulty of having hesitant witnesses corroborate Young’s story as a factor in the decision not to retry Weinstein.
Young expressed disappointment at the decision, stating that she had “done everything possible to seek justice” for what Weinstein had done to her.
Siebel Newsom’s attorney, Elizabeth Fegan, stated that her client respected the decision not to retry the charges related to her.
Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez read a statement from Siebel Newsom, in which she stated that Weinstein deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year sentence in New York for his 2020 conviction, and was sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison in Los Angeles in December.
His New York conviction is under appeal, and his attorneys plan to appeal his California conviction as well.
Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, stated that with a retrial no longer looming, Weinstein “can focus on the counts he was convicted on.”
Weinstein himself stated that he is reading books on legendary defense attorney Clarence Darrow “so that I may understand more for my own legal defense, as I continue the monumental challenge of ultimately proving my innocence.”
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