Prosecutors will retry Harvey Weinstein after appeals court overturns NY rape conviction

A state Supreme Court jury determined Weinstein, 72, was guilty of criminal sexual act in the first-degree and third-degree rape in 2020, finding he forcibly performed oral sex on Haley in 2006 and committed third-degree rape in an incident with Mann in 2013.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, which he was serving at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, N.Y. — where he returned after facing another trial in California that resulted in his December 2022 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges and a 16-year sentence.

The stunning April 25 ruling by the New York Court of Appeals overturning Weinstein’s New York conviction found the trial court judge, James Burke, shouldn’t have permitted testimony by three women — Taralê Wulff, Dawn Dunning, and Lauren Young — about uncharged allegations of sexual violence.

The court found Burke, who Mayor Eric Adams’ office declined to reappoint in late 2022, further erred by deciding Weinstein could be cross-examined on those allegations. The ruling had no bearing on Weinstein’s Los Angeles conviction.

Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for Wulff, said she is willing to help prosecutors if needed. Attorneys for Dunning and Young could not immediately be reached.

Weinstein’s fall from grace came after bombshell exposes by The New Yorker and The New York Times in late 2017 alleging he abused scores of women throughout his career. More than 80 women have accused the former Hollywood mogul of sexual misconduct, a scandal that supercharged the #MeToo reckoning against workplace sexual abuse and harassment committed by men in positions of power.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr. brought the original New York case against Weinstein, was also in attendance at Wednesday’s hearing.

At an unrelated press conference, Bragg acknowledged that the appeals court decision restricts prosecutors from reusing evidence but said he’s still confident they will secure a conviction.

“To be clear, we believe that we have a strong case,” Bragg said.

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