New York Prosecutors Drop Harvey Weinstein Rape Charge Following Consecutive Deadlocked Trials
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, New York prosecutors on Thursday dismissed a third-degree rape charge against Harvey Weinstein after two separate juries failed to reach a unanimous verdict on the allegation. The District Attorney’s office announced in a statement that the accuser in the case, Jessica Mann, no longer wished to endure the grueling process of testifying in what would have been a fourth trial for the disgraced film mogul.
“To be absolutely clear, we fully believe Ms. Mann’s account and her credibility as a witness,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “This case has been an extraordinary and punishing ordeal for her. Over the past eight years, she never wavered in her commitment to truth, testifying before two grand juries and three trial juries. We are deeply grateful for her extraordinary honesty and courage.”
Jessica Mann also submitted a statement to the court, explaining that following the conclusion of the most recent trial, it became clear to her that she “could no longer withstand the exhausting toll of this process.” She wrote: “My pursuit of justice has consumed nearly a decade of my life, causing me far more harm than healing. Justice has now moved away from the courtrooms and rests solely in God’s hands.”
Despite this dismissal, Weinstein was convicted last year in a separate segment of the case for the sexual assault of Miriam Haley, a former production assistant on Project Runway. Prosecutors announced Thursday that they intend to ask Judge Curtis Farber to sentence Weinstein to up to 20 years in prison for that conviction.
The 74-year-old Weinstein was originally sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020 after being convicted of assaulting both Mann and Haley. However, that conviction was overturned in 2024 by the state’s highest appellate court. During his June 2025 retrial, Weinstein was convicted once again for the assault on Miriam Haley, but the jury deadlocked on Jessica Mann’s allegation of a 2013 rape at a Manhattan hotel.
Prosecutors made a further attempt to try the rape charge involving Mann in May, but a new jury likewise deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. Weinstein’s defense relied heavily on a series of friendly text messages and emails exchanged between the two over several years to argue that the relationship was consensual. Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, stated that the former producer felt a sense of relief regarding the outcome.
Weinstein, who has been incarcerated since 2020, is also serving a separate 16-year prison sentence following a rape conviction in a Los Angeles court. His defense attorneys are now expected to petition Judge Farber for leniency and a lesser sentence in the New York matter, citing Weinstein’s conduct while imprisoned.
