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Weinstein was appealing his February 2020
conviction and 23-year prison sentence for assaulting former
production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring
actress Jessica Mann.
"We reject (the) defendant's arguments, and affirm the
conviction in all respects," a unanimous five-judge panel of the
Appellate Division in Manhattan said, finding no errors that
would warrant overturning Weinstein's conviction or sentence.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Weinstein, said Weinstein will
appeal the decision to New York state's highest court, the Court
of Appeals. "We are disappointed and sad for Mr. Weinstein,"
Engelmayer said.
The verdict was considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement
where women came forward to accuse dozens of powerful men of
sexual misconduct. Many view the accusations against Weinstein,
which surfaced in 2017, the key spark for that movement.
Weinstein, 70, has denied any non-consensual sexual encounters.
He made seven arguments for overturning his conviction,
including that rape charges were based on insufficient evidence.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose predecessor Cyrus
Vance first criminally charged Weinstein, welcomed Thursday's
decision, and said he was "grateful to the brave survivors in
this case for their remarkable courage and candor."
Weinstein is jailed in California, where he was extradited last
year and awaits trial on 11 charges of alleged misconduct toward
five women in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and
2013.
Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault
charges in Los Angeles. His lawyers there have argued that some
of the charges should be thrown out because the statute of
limitations had expired.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Rami Ayyub in Washington and
Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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