LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors told a judge Tuesday they will not retry Harvey Weinstein on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Thompson announced the decision to Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench at a hearing in downtown Los Angeles. The judge dismissed the charges that a jury failed to agree on in December and said Weinstein would be returned to New York, where he was convicted in a similar case.
The Los Angeles jury convicted Weinstein, 70, of the rape and sexual assault of an Italian model and actor.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. That is in addition to the 23-year sentence he is already serving for a similar sentence in New York.
Jurors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts on charges involving two accusers, one count of rape and one count of sexual assault involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and one count of assault. against model Lauren Young.
Young said at Tuesday’s hearing that she was disappointed that prosecutors did not move forward with a new trial. Thompson said Weinstein would likely only face an additional year in prison if he is tried again on his behalf, and while he wanted all the victims to receive justice, that additional period was not worth another trial.
Weinstein was acquitted of a charge of sexual assault against a masseur.
The Associated Press generally 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 conviction in New York is under appeal and his lawyers plan to appeal his conviction here.
Lench denied a defense motion for a new trial prior to Weinstein’s sentencing. His lawyers argued that vital evidence was withheld from the jury.