from the moment he entered the courtroom
in Manhattan this morning
Harvey Weinstein would have known this
could be his last day of freedom do you
regret your actions mr. Weinstein are
you worried about the verdict and within
two hours the jury of seven men and five
women declared this once all-powerful
media Titan guilty on two charges of
rape and sexual assault the second more
serious charge of assault in the first
degree
carries a maximum sentence of 25 years
at the age of 67 that means Harvey
Weinstein could face the rest of his
life behind bars this is the new
landscape for survivors of sexual
assault in America I believe and this is
a new day it's a new day because Harvey
Weinstein has finally been held
accountable for crimes he committed the
women who came forward courageously and
at great risk made that happen
Weinstein is a vicious serial sexual
predator who used his power to threaten
rape assault trick humiliates and
silences victims this is a legal
reckoning for Harvey Weinstein the three
witnesses whom I represent have been
role models and courage without them and
their willingness to testify under oath
in this case and without their
willingness to be subjected to an
intense and brutal cross-examination
this result would never have been won
more than 80 women accused Weinstein of
sexual assault and harassment he has
reached a multi-million dollar
settlement with many of them and because
of the statute of limitations this trial
has focused on the allegations of just
240 rape the actress Jessica man in a
hotel room in 2013 and that he assaulted
a production assistant
Mimi Haley by forcibly performing a sex
act on her in his apartment in 2006 he
was found guilty on both counts
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to
all charges and said the sex had been
consensual today as their client was
hanged
often remanded in custody mister
Weinstein's lawyers were defiant while
Harvey Weinstein was not convicted on
the more serious charges of predatory
sexual assault this is a spectacular
fall from grace for the once untouchable
movie mogul and a day of reckoning too
for the global me to movement which was
kick-started by the storm of allegations
against him that was jumping and of
course I was having in my mind all of
these moments we're back in 2015
nothing was done and like it was just
like going back to those moments and
having that hope that right now is
fulfilled and it just gave me life and
while the judge told the jurors
Weinstein's trial should not be a
referendum on me to because he is seen
as the central villain of the piece
his conviction today will doubtless feel
like vindication for many well Harvey
Weinstein is due to be sentenced on
March the 11th and remember too that he
faces four additional charges of sexual
assault in LA
hit the lawyer for the two women here
today Gloria Allred saying that she
looks forward to seeing him take the
stand there to whatever happens there
though there's no underplaying the
significance of what has happened here
today
Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape
and sexual assault facing potentially
the rest of his life in prison
vindication for the women who dared
speak out against him and for the
hundreds who then became part of the me2
movement around the world today was very
much their day she born thanks very much
Jackie well later in the program we'll
hear from one of the many women who came
forward alleging they'd been abused or
harassed by Harvey Weinstein and there
are still many other alleged victims
looking for justice including some in
this country joining me now from
Hampshire as Susan McKee who's a QC her
law practice specializes in sexual
harassment and misconduct she's advising
some of the alleged victim says
McKey what do you make of the verdict
today well on the one hand it's well
it's certainly a vindication for a
number of the women on the other hand
it's unfortunate that they didn't
believe one of the witnesses says that
the predatory rape conviction wasn't
upheld that's it that is unfortunate but
there is no doubt as you say that this
is vindication for women women who'd
held on to their stories for such a long
time for fear that they wouldn't be
believed this is really important for
those women today isn't it yeah that's
absolutely right and for those that are
considering civil actions which is what
I specialize in it will certainly help
them it'll help them believe that they
may be thought to be credible in a court
of law and it may give them the strength
to issue proceedings rather than just
consider whether to do so at the moment
there is no doubt though that the court
process will have been very bruising for
those women Harvey Weinstein's defense
lawyers constantly saying that these
women knew what they were doing that
this was transactional sex in exchange
for improving their careers it is a
difficult process for these women to go
through isn't it it's extremely
difficult if you fight it all the way to
trial in a civil case then you can be
expected to be pretty much brutalized in
cross-examination it's made particularly
difficult in some of the Weinstein cases
because of ongoing relationships after
the alleged attacks and also going back
to work with Weinstein in a number of
cases that does make it tricky and it
does open the door to a certain sort of
cross-examination some of the women who
talked about those ongoing relationships
explained that they felt they couldn't
leave those relationships because he had
such a grip on Hollywood on their lives
oh absolutely I mean I I have met people
I'm advising one in particular who said
she could not get work anywhere else
within that industry and I had felt she
had no choice but to go back to work
otherwise she would starve she wouldn't
be able to work or in the kind of money
anywhere near the kind of money she was
earning before and he had it snowed out
a grip on these women and it is
complicated so a psychology of what you
do after after an incident like this is
complicated
we can't judge very briefly do you
anticipate though that today's verdicts
may encourage more women to come forward
I think that's absolutely right I do
think that where there are complexities
that relate to ongoing relationships
they'd have to consider this verdict
very carefully in deciding whether to
come forward in civil actions one would
hope settlements make it easier for
women in anticipation that they will not
need to go to trial Weinstein had to
fight this civil cases is different
Suzanne McKee thanks very much for
talking to us thank you