Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 15 Years for 2006 Sexual Assault After New York Retrial

Manhattan prosecutors had asked for 20 years. Harvey Weinstein's defense team argued for nine, citing the 74-year-old's deteriorating health and the likelihood that a longer term would mean he dies in custody. Judge Curtis Farber landed in between, sentencing Weinstein to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting former "Project Runway" production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The sentence concludes the New York chapter of a legal saga that began with Weinstein's 2018 arrest and helped propel the global #MeToo movement. Weinstein was originally convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years, but New York's highest court overturned that conviction in 2024, ruling the trial judge improperly allowed testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the charges. A retrial in 2025 ended with a jury convicting Weinstein on one count of criminal sexual act against Haley, acquitting him on a charge involving former model Kaja Sokola, and deadlocking on a charge related to actress Jessica Mann. Prosecutors later dropped the Mann charge after she declined to testify again.

In court Wednesday, Weinstein appeared in a wheelchair and read a statement that mixed apology with continued denial. "I am not a perfect person. But I am a person who has made mistakes," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He added, "Reflecting on all that has happened since 2017 has helped me recognize how my past conduct has negatively impacted others." He said he wanted to "apologize to anyone I may have hurt through my actions," but maintained his innocence regarding Haley.

The prosecution countered that Weinstein has shown no remorse. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told the court Weinstein engaged in victim blaming and "unrelenting online harassment," including negotiating a $1.75 million fee to assist podcasters in releasing videos on a timeline that would benefit his defense and taint the jury pool, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Judge Farber, in announcing the sentence, said Weinstein "took what you wanted by force and you have never accepted responsibility," as reported by the BBC.

“This is the second witness impact statement I'm giving related to the crime committed against me by Harvey Weinstein. I trust that it will be my final one.”

: Miriam Haley, in court Wednesday, via The Hollywood Reporter

Haley described the decision to testify twice as traumatizing, saying she considered dropping out many times because she felt as if she were the one on trial. She endured tough cross-examination, press attention, and online hostility, in addition to the trauma of the assault, which she said will have her "looking over my shoulder for years to come." Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement, "Today was about the survivors," and praised their courage and steadfastness, according to NBC News.

Weinstein has been incarcerated since 2020, and that time is expected to apply toward his New York sentence. Judge Farber asked that the New York sentence run consecutive to Weinstein's 16-year California sentence, though California has the ultimate say. Weinstein also faces resentencing in California after a state appeals court vacated his original sentence there. His attorneys have petitioned the California Supreme Court for review of the conviction. Weinstein is currently held in the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he has been treated for bone marrow cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, and coronary artery disease, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Outside the courthouse, attorney Gloria Allred, flanked by Haley and other witnesses, pushed back on the idea that the sentencing marks the end of #MeToo. "Many in the press have suggested that this sentencing marks the end of the #MeToo movement," Allred said. "In my opinion as a women's rights and victims' rights attorney for 50 years, nothing could be further from the truth. The #MeToo movement began decades before allegations against Mr. Weinstein became public and the #MeToo movement will continue in the future," according to The Hollywood Reporter.