Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison

Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for felony sex crimes

The once famed and influential Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced today to 23 years in a New York State prison, after being convicted of two felony sex crimes.

Weinstein has been residing in an infirmary unit on Rikers Island since his conviction on February 25, and today was sentenced by the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Justice James A. Burke, the judge who presided over Weinstein’s case, could have sentenced him to anything between five and 29 years in prison. This 23-year sentence may effectively serve as a life sentence for Weinstein, who is said to be in ill health.

The charges against Weinstein for rape and sexual assault were seen as the catalyst for igniting the worldwide #MeToo movement, where women globally revealed the extent of sexual abuse and harassment in industries around the world. Over 80 women in the film industry accused Weinstein of inappropriate behaviour, ranging from verbal harassment to rape.

Six women testified against Weinstein in a criminal hearing earlier this year, showing the pattern of predatory behaviour that the producer had exhibited during his career.

Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape for attacking aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, and first-degree criminal sexual act by forcibly performing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006.

Weinstein denies any ‘non-consensual sexual activity’ with any of the women that have accused him.

Weinstein still faces pending criminal charges in Los Angeles, where he is accused of raping one woman and sexually assaulting a second woman over a two-day period in 2013.

He will serve his sentence in an upstate New York prison.

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