Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Harvey Weinstein Will Likely Spend The Rest Of His Life In Prison After LA Sentence

Editor's note: This report includes descriptions of sexual assault.
Disgraced former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 more years in prison by a Los Angeles judge Thursday. He was convicted there in December on three charges of rape and sexual assault. Separately, the 70-year-old is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault in New York — meaning that it is very likely that Weinstein will now spend the rest of his life in prison.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench ordered this second sentence to be served consecutively, meaning that it will start after Weinstein completes his 23-year sentence in New York.
The woman whose testimony provided the basis of his conviction was referred to during the Los Angeles trial as "Jane Doe #1." The woman is a European model whom Weinstein raped during a film festival in Los Angeles in February 2013.
The former producer — once one of the most inarguably powerful men in Hollywood — was brought to trial in California on seven charges of rape and sexual assault involving four women between 2004 and 2013. The jury found him not guilty of one charge and could not decide about three other charges.
Weinstein was initially charged in Los Angeles on eleven counts of rape and sexual assault; by the time he went on trial, prosecutors had dropped four of those charges related to a woman identified in the case as "Jane Doe #5" because the state was "unable to proceed" with her allegations.
Allegations against Weinstein by dozens of women — including those published by The New York Times and The New Yorker in October 2017 — were a driving force behind the #MeToo movement. During his New York sentencing in March 2020, Weinstein compared the #MeToo movement and his own situation to the Red Scare of the 1940s and '50s, during which Hollywood professionals were blacklisted for their perceived support of communism.
Edited by: Ciera Crawford
Produced by: Anastasia Tsioulcas
-
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.