Harvey Weinstein’s conviction for rape has been upheld by a New York Court of Appeals.
Weinstein argued that the historical trial judge harmed him by allowing women to testify on allegations that were not part of the criminal case.
A five-judge court in New York on Thursday upheld the lower court’s verdict, dismissing the filmmaker’s dishonored appeal.
In a 45-page ruling, the appellate court ruled that Judge James Burke properly exercised his discretion in allowing prosecutors to strengthen their case with the testimony of three women who accused Weinstein of rape. but their claims did not lead to charges in the New York case. .
Judah Engelmayer, Weinstein’s publicist, said she is reviewing her options and will try to appeal the decision to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
“We’re disappointed, but not surprised,” Engelmayer said.
Weinstein, 70, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in California, where he was extradited in 2021 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting five women in Los Angeles and Beverley Hills from 2004 to 2013.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Weinstein was convicted in March 2020 of a criminal sexual act in a television and film production assistant in 2006 and of raping an actress in 2016.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault arising from the charges of actor Annabella Sciorra.
Sciorra’s claims date back to the 1990s and she relinquished her right to anonymity.