Content Warning: Sexual Harassment
Harvey Weinstein will not face another trial in Manhattan over a rape allegation involving Jessica Mann. Prosecutors officially dropped the remaining charge after years of courtroom battles and multiple retrials.
The decision closes one chapter of the disgraced producer’s New York criminal case. It also follows two juries that failed to reach a verdict after his original conviction was overturned.
Prosecutors have dismissed a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein in Manhattan court proceedings
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dismissed the third-degree rape charge after speaking with Jessica Mann, who no longer wished to testify.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told the court that Mann “does not wish to testify a fourth trial. Instead, she wants to heal and move forward with her life,” according to The New York Times.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg emphasized that the decision was not a reflection on Mann’s credibility. “To be clear, we believe Ms Mann’s account and her credibility as a witness,” Bragg said in a statement quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. He added that Mann had endured “an extraordinarily taxing ordeal” while testifying before two grand juries and three trial juries over eight years.
The dismissal means Weinstein will not stand trial a fourth time over allegations that he raped Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013. During previous trials, Mann testified that Weinstein forced himself on her after blocking her from leaving the room. Weinstein’s legal team has consistently argued the encounter was consensual.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is now moving ahead with sentencing on Weinstein’s 2025 conviction for committing a criminal sexual act against former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley. Prosecutors have recommended a 20-year prison sentence, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, welcomed the latest development. “Harvey is relieved,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the defense plans to challenge prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation.
Weinstein’s original 2020 New York conviction became a defining moment of the #MeToo movement before New York’s highest court overturned it in 2024, ruling that testimony from uncharged accusers had unfairly influenced the jury. Since then, prosecutors retried the case, securing one conviction while repeatedly failing to obtain a verdict on the charge involving Mann.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK PROSECUTORS MADE THE RIGHT DECISION TO END THE CASE AFTER JESSICA MANN DECLINED TO TESTIFY AGAIN?
