Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in New York.
Weinstein, 74, appeared before a Manhattan court for sentencing after a jury found him guilty again in 2025 of forcibly performing oral sex on Haley in 2006.
Haley, one of several women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, was present in court during the sentencing.
Weinstein had previously been sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020 following his conviction on sexual assault and rape charges. However, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction in 2024 and ordered a retrial, finding that the original trial had been affected by improper admission of testimony.
A new jury convicted Weinstein in 2025 on the charge involving Haley.
Addressing the court on Wednesday, Weinstein appealed for leniency and denied that he was a violent person.
“I am not a violent man, have some mercy,” Weinstein said.
He also apologised to those he had hurt, saying, “I sincerely apologize to anyone I have hurt.”
Weinstein appeared in court wearing a dark suit and red tie and was seated in a wheelchair, amid ongoing health problems.
Prosecutors had sought a 20-year prison sentence, while Weinstein’s lawyers argued that a lengthy sentence could result in him spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Haley told the court that the assault had left lasting psychological consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
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She described her experience as a “life sentence” and accused Weinstein of abusing his position of power.
“I felt embarrassed that he thought I was so insignificant that he dared to do something like this,” Haley told the court.
#MeToo Movement
Weinstein was once one of Hollywood’s most influential producers, with credits including films such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love.
His career collapsed after investigations published by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 detailed allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him.
More than 80 women subsequently accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, triggering a global reckoning over sexual abuse and the misuse of power and helping propel the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein continues to face legal proceedings in California over a separate conviction involving the rape and sexual assault of an actress at a Los Angeles hotel in 2013.
A California appeals court upheld that conviction in June but vacated his 16-year prison sentence, paving the way for a new sentencing hearing.
In New York, a separate case involving allegations by actor Jessica Mann ended in a mistrial in May after jurors failed to reach a verdict.
Prosecutors subsequently said they would not pursue a fourth trial in Mann’s case.
Weinstein has continued to deny allegations of sexual assault and has maintained that his sexual encounters with women were consensual.
His legal battles have continued years after the allegations against him helped transform conversations about sexual harassment, abuse and accountability across the entertainment industry and beyond.