NEW: Harvey Weinstein Jury Deadlocked on 2 Counts, May Convict on Other Charges, Say Reports

Friday, February 21, 2020

GoLocalPDX News Team

Harvey Weinstein PHOTO: David Shankbone/Wikipedia

The jury in the trial of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, 67, was deadlocked on Friday, regarding two of the most serious charges against him, according to the Washington Post.

According to the Washington Post, the jury is hung on the counts of predatory sexual assault, a charge which carries a minimum of ten years in prison.

The New York Times reports, ".. that it [the jury] might have reached a verdict on three other counts. In their note, on the fourth day of deliberations, the jurors asked if they could return a unanimous verdict on two charges of rape and one count of criminal sexual act, but remain split on two charges of predatory sexual assault, which carry a possible life sentence.

'We the jury request to understand if we can be hung on 1 and/or 3 but unanimous on the others,' read the note, which was entered during the lunch break...The jury did not say what it had decided on the lesser counts. The predatory sexual assault count requires prosecutors to prove that Mr. Weinstein committed a serious sexual felony against at least two people," reported the TImes.

The Washington Post reports that the jury will break for the weekend, before reconvening on Monday.

The jury of seven men and five women began deliberations on Tuesday.

Charges in Dispute

According to the Washington Post, the charges that are in question relate to actress Annabella Sciorra, 59, who testified that Weinstein raped her in late 1993 or early 1994.

To convict Weinstein, jurors need to decide Sciorra’s story was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, in addition to endorsing the stories of either or both of the other accusers, Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann.

According to the Washington Post, Haleyi, 42, testified that Weinstein forced an act of oral sex on her in July of 2006 in his New York apartment.

Mann, 34, who had a consensual five-year relationship with Weinstein, testified that he forced sex on her twice.

Weinstein’s trial began on January 6.