Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Manhattan for sexually assaulting former television production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.
The sentence follows a legal battle lasting more than six years and means the former Hollywood producer is likely to remain behind bars until at least his late 80s. Weinstein, 74, is expected to appeal and has consistently denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
Haley addressed the court before sentencing, describing the lasting impact of the assault and the decision to pursue justice.
“Having been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein has had a devastating effect on my life and sense of security that may never go away. Making the decision to speak up will have me looking over my shoulder for years to come,” she said.
“It’s a life sentence for me,” Haley added, saying she had been further traumatised by exercising her right to hold him accountable and had considered ending her pursuit of justice several times.
Weinstein apologised to those he may have hurt, but maintained his innocence in relation to Haley’s allegations.
“I do have remorse for Miriam Haley’s pain but I have to reiterate my innocence,” he told Judge Curtis Farber.
The judge said Weinstein had once been “a king in the movie industry”, but that recognition of his professional achievements would “pale in comparison to what you did”. He described Weinstein as now being known as “a sexual predator, the literal face of the MeToo movement”.
Weinstein was originally convicted in 2020 of assaulting Haley and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, receiving a 23-year sentence. New York’s highest court later overturned that conviction, ruling that testimony from other women whose allegations were not part of the case had been improperly admitted.
At a retrial last year, Weinstein was again found guilty of a first-degree criminal sex act involving Haley. The jury acquitted him of forcibly performing oral sex on Kaja Sokola and could not reach a verdict on the rape charge involving Mann.
A further retrial on the Mann charge ended with a hung jury in May. Manhattan prosecutors later dropped the case rather than pursue a fourth trial, after Mann said she could not bear to testify again, clearing the way for Wednesday’s sentencing.
Defence lawyer Jacob Kaplan had asked for Weinstein to receive three additional years on top of the more than six years he has already served. He argued that a longer sentence would increase the likelihood of Weinstein dying in prison.
Kaplan said Weinstein was in failing health and had been admitted to hospital six times since 2025 while dealing with blood cancer, congestive heart failure and kidney problems.
Once one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, Weinstein was an Oscar-winning producer whose films included Shakespeare in Love, Pulp Fiction and Chocolat. Allegations of sexual assault against him emerged in 2017, helping to trigger the MeToo movement.
After the sentencing, Weinstein was seated in a wheelchair and was quickly taken from the courtroom, while some of his accusers hugged and wiped away tears.
