Harvey Weinstein rape charge dismissed after mistrial
Prosecutors are dismissing Harvey Weinstein's rape charge involving Jessica Mann.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his office would not to retry Weinstein, 74, after the case ended in a mistrial in May, according to a news release June 25. Bragg said the decision followed discussions with Mann, "who does not wish to testify again" in what would have been the fourth trial in the matter.
"In accordance with our survivor-centered approach to prosecutions, we informed the court that we will not retry the remaining count" of rape in the third degree, the news release read. "To be clear, we believe Ms. Mann's account and her credibility as a witness."
The release said the case "has been an extraordinarily taxing ordeal for" Mann, who "never wavered while testifying in front of two grand juries and three trial juries over the course of eight years. We thank her for her honesty and her tremendous bravery."
Juda Engelmayer, a representative for Weinstein, addressed the news in a statement to USA TODAY: "Harvey is relieved by today's outcome. We believe this is the result that should have been reached from the outset, had the grand jury been presented with the full scope of the emails, text messages, and other private communications."
Engelmayer called Weinstein's earlier sentence "excessive" and said Weinstein's lawyers "intend to challenge the prosecution's sentencing recommendations. Harvey has been a model inmate for nearly seven years, and we believe that record, along with the other relevant factors, should be given significant weight at sentencing."
Weinstein has long denied any allegations of assault and nonconsensual sex. He pleaded not guilty to third-degree rape at the start of the third trial in April.
Jessica Mann breaks silence on Harvey Weinstein rape charge dismissal
Mann spoke out in a statement to the court, obtained by USA TODAY, explaining it was her decision not to move forward with further litigation.
"It was clear to me at this last trial I could no longer endure going through this any longer," she said in part. "In my fight to see justice, it has nearly stolen a decade of my life and put me through more harm than good. It has changed me in irrevocable ways that I live with permanently − that there is no restitution for. A cost I have been willing to pay over and over.
"I consider Harvey Weinstein − 'Jack the Rapist.' I can only hope that he serves time for the crimes he has been convicted on, individually, to honor the wake of women’s bodies he left in ruin – that were harmed on different days, different years, different times, different places, different eras, different ways.
"If only the ill-intentioned walked around in dark anti-hero capes with their mission to take over the world embroidered. How wonderful it would be to distinguish collectively the forces of evil. How wonderful it would be to recognize a predator like the antagonist in a Hollywood film."
Jessica Mann's latest trial against Harvey Weinstein ended in a mistrial
The charge dismissal comes one month after a New York jury told Judge Curtis Farber that members were deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. The case stemmed from allegations that Weinstein raped Mann, an aspiring actress, in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
The former Hollywood producer was first tried in 2020, which resulted in a jury finding him guilty of Mann's alleged 2013 rape and of the assault of his onetime production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. He was sentenced to 23 years, but the conviction was overturned when a higher court determined Weinstein did not receive a fair trial.
Weinstein was retried in 2025 and was found guilty of sexually abusing Haley and not guilty of assaulting former model Kaja Sokola. The rape charge involving Mann ended in a mistrial because of a deadlocked jury, which ultimately happened again in the latest proceedings.
Bragg said in the news release that his office "will not pursue a fourth trial and therefore moved to dismiss" the charge "in consideration of Ms. Mann's stance, and in recognition of Mr. Weinstein's class B felony conviction for violently sexually assaulting Miriam Haley."
"We also shared our recommendation to the court that Mr. Weinstein be sentenced to 20 years in prison, which would account for the significant harms his actions have caused Ms. Haley," Bragg added. "I want survivors of sexual violence in Manhattan to know that we believe you, and we will fight for you. We stand with survivors, today and every day."
In opening statements, prosecutor Candace White accused Weinstein of preying upon "fragile and sheltered" young women in Hollywood. His defense attorney Jacob Kaplan pushed back, saying Mann fabricated the allegation because of regret over the romance.
Calling Mann a "strong and capable" woman who had a consensual relationship with Weinstein, Kaplan said in his opening statement that "this case will be her word against her word."
After a mistrial was declared May 15, Mann reacted to the outcome in a statement obtained by USA TODAY: "Today's decision to declare a mistrial doesn't in any way detract from the truth I told and the violent crimes Harvey Weinstein committed upon me and so many others.
"I chose to testify in three trials because I am telling the truth," she continued. "For years I have had to relive some of the hardest moments of my life while facing attempts to shame, humiliate and discredit me in open court. I submitted myself to the highest standards, transparency, and accountability in coming forward through the justice system – choosing integrity even when the process flayed me open.
"The power of predators remains too great. I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good – a world where predators are not in power," the statement concluded.
Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison sentence for a 2022 rape conviction in California, which he has appealed.
Contributing: Reuters