As of Monday, February 24th, Harvey Weinstein became a convicted rapist as he was found guilty of a first-degree criminal sexual act against former production assistant, Mimi Haley, and rape in the third-degree against the former aspiring actress, Jessica Mann.

The verdict on the five charges raised against Harvey Weinstein was split, however, with the jury acquitting Weinstein of the more serious charges, which include first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault.

Dawn Dunning, a witness at the trial, shared her thoughts on the verdict, “My biggest fear was him being found not guilty. I’m very relieved. But he wasn’t found guilty on all of the counts, so I feel like it was a victory, but not a complete victory.”

Harvey Weinstein was a prominent Hollywood director who had gained acclaim with his Oscar-winning movies such as, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, The King’s Speech, and Shakespeare in Love. Various women have accused Weinstein of abuse and harassment, dating as far back as the early 1990s and as recent as 2015. 

Harvey Weinstein faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of twenty-nine years with him having been found guilty of two out of the five cases brought against him. Weinstein was reportedly shocked by the guilty verdicts, which can be attributed to the fact that he had never been held accountable for his actions throughout the years as he was a powerful, rich, and white man.

Mr. Vance, the Manhattan district attorney responded to the news by saying, “It’s a new day because Harvey Weinstein has finally been held accountable for crimes he committed.”

 Weinstein’s defense attorneys Donna Rotunno and Arthur Aidala plan to contest the guilty verdicts for rape and criminal sexual assault with an appeal. This course of action although would not be able to discredit the fact that Harvey Weinstein is currently a convicted rapist.

Erika Rosenbaum, an actress who had accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct previously shared her thoughts on the guilty verdict, “He was found guilty and will be labeled a sexual predator, rightfully so. That’s going to follow him for the rest of his life.”