A California appeals court unanimously upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction Friday, rejecting every argument his lawyers mounted to overturn the verdict while ordering a lower court to resentence the 74-year-old former Hollywood producer — a decision that arrives just one day after a New York rape charge against him was dropped for the fourth and final time.
A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal issued the ruling, finding that the trial judge did not violate Weinstein’s constitutional rights. “We reject his attempts to disturb the jury’s guilty verdicts,” the panel wrote.
Weinstein was convicted in December 2022 of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against Evgeniya Chernyshova, an Italian model and actor who testified that he arrived uninvited at her hotel room during the 2013 L.A.-Italia Film Festival and assaulted her. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
His defense had argued that trial judge Lisa B. Lench improperly blocked questions about Facebook messages between Chernyshova and the festival’s director — messages the defense said would have shown a prior sexual relationship and bolstered an alibi.
The appeals panel found that Weinstein’s lawyers failed to comply with California’s rape shield law when they sought to introduce the messages, and that he had made his defense arguments through other evidence the judge permitted. The panel also rejected the claim that allowing four other accusers to testify about uncharged conduct was improper, finding that testimony was relevant to show a propensity to commit the offenses charged.
The court did order resentencing, concluding that the trial judge had improperly factored in New York convictions that were subsequently thrown out as an aggravating circumstance. California’s attorney general agreed that the original sentence could not stand on those grounds.
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Weinstein’s spokesman said the defense would seek review from the California Supreme Court. The ruling follows Thursday’s decision by New York prosecutors to drop the rape charge involving Jessica Mann, who said she could no longer endure testifying after three trials produced a conviction, an overturn, and two hung juries.
Weinstein now faces a September sentencing in New York on a separate sexual assault conviction involving a different woman, with prosecutors seeking a 20-year term. Her attorney said Chernyshova “has persevered for years to reach this point” and characterized Friday’s ruling as putting Weinstein away for good.
