Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted on Wednesday of one of the top charges in his sex crimes retrial but acquitted of another, and jurors were as yet unable to reach a verdict on a third charge.
The split verdict meted out a measure of vindication to his accusers and prosecutors — but also to Weinstein — after the landmark case was thrown into limbo.
Weinstein’s initial conviction five years ago seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood’s most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement.
But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse.
This time, a majority-female jury convicted the former studio boss of forcibly subjecting one to a criminal sex act in 2006.
But jurors acquitted Weinstein of another criminal sex act charge from 2006. And jurors were to continue deliberating on a charge that he raped another woman in 2013.
Under New York law, the third-degree rape charge carries a lesser penalty than the first-degree criminal sex act offense.
Weinstein, 73, denies sexually assaulting or raping anyone.
