LOS ANGELES – Prosecutors told a judge Tuesday that they would not re-prosecute Harvey Weinstein on rape and sexual assault allegations involving two women.
At a hearing in the city of Los Angeles, Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson told Superior Court Judge Lisa B. announced the decision to Lench. The judge dismissed allegations that a jury failed to reach an agreement in December and said Weinstein would be returned to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case.
A Los Angeles jury convicted Weinstein, 70, of rape and sexual assault of an Italian model and actor.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. This is in addition to the 23 years he is already serving for a similar sentence in New York.
Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on charges involving two counts of rape, one rape count and one sexual battery count against Jennifer Seibel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and model Lauren Young.
Young said during Tuesday’s hearing that he was disappointed that prosecutors would not pursue a retrial. Thompson said Weinstein would only face an additional year in prison if overturned on his count, and while he wanted justice for all victims, the extra stretch of another trial was not worth it.
Weinstein was acquitted of a count of sexual battery against a massage therapist.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they publicly identify themselves, as the women named here have done.
Weinstein’s New York conviction is being appealed and his lawyers plan to appeal his conviction here.
Lench declined an offer of a defense motion for a new trial before Weinstein’s sentencing. His attorneys argued that important evidence was withheld from the jury.
