After alleged juror threats, jury finds Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault
June 11 (UPI) -- Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is guilty of sexual assault, a New York jury determined Wednesday amid courtroom chaos when a juror allegedly threatened another.
The Manhattan Supreme Court jury of seven women and five men found Weinstein, 73, guilty of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley but acquitted him of the same charge regarding Kaja Sokola, the New York Daily News reported.
The jury delivered the split verdict following five days of deliberations.
Still to be decided is a charge of third-degree rape of accuser Jessica Mann, who said Weinstein raped her in 2013.
Haley and Sokola said Weinstein performed oral sex on them with force and without their permission in separate instances in 2006.
A courtroom outburst preceded the reading of Wednesday's verdicts, when a juror reportedly yelled at another: "I'll meet you outside one day."
The outburst spurred Weinstein's legal team to request a mistrial, including attorney Arthur Aidala, who accused the juror of criminal "menacing and harassment."
Weinstein sat in a wheelchair during the six-week trial after recently undergoing emergency surgery on his heart in September.
He also was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in October.
After the outburst inside the courtroom, Weinstein told Justice Curtis Farber the jury's actions make it impossible for him to get a fair trial.
"We've heard threats. We've heard intimidation. We've heard fights," he said. "This is not right for me, the person that's on trial here."
The jury foreman told Farber some jurors were "attacking" each other and said, "I can't go back in there with the other jurors."
The foreman first notified the judge of problems among jurors on Monday and said the situation "isn't very good."
Farber asked the jury to deliver its partial verdict and told the jurors to go home early to give them time away from each other before resuming deliberating the remaining charge on Thursday.
The guilty verdict for sexual assault could put Weinstein in prison for up to 25 years, minus time already served after a 2020 conviction on the charge.
Weinstein has maintained his innocence and said all sexual encounters were consensual.
A jury trial in 2020 found Weinstein guilty on all charges against him, but an appellate court last year overturned the verdict due to testimony by witnesses regarding unrelated events and allegations.
Weinstein co-founded Miramax and won an Oscar for producing "Shakespeare in Love."
He also produced award-winning films "Pulp Fiction," "The English Patient" and "Good Will Hunting," among others.
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