The Manhattan prosecutor announced Thursday that he was dropping charges against former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in a rape case that has already led to three unsuccessful trials.
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In this case, the former producer is accused by actress Jessica Mann, aged 27 at the time of the facts, of having raped her in a New York hotel room in March 2013, shortly after their meeting at a party.
In his defense, Harvey Weinstein, now 74 years old, has always maintained that the sexual relationship was consensual.
“After speaking with Jessica Mann, who does not wish to testify again, and in accordance with our victim-centered approach to criminal prosecutions, we informed the court that we would not retry Harvey Weinstein, prosecutor Alvin Bragg wrote in a press release.
“Let me be clear: we believe Ms. Mann’s story and believe she is a credible witness,” he continued. “This affair represented an extraordinarily trying ordeal for her, and she never varied in her statements,” adds the magistrate.
Last May, a trial brought in this case to the fallen producer, whose actions contributed to the triggering of the #MeToo wave, ended without the jury reaching a unanimous verdict.
This was the third time that justice had failed to reach a verdict: in 2025, a previous jury had failed to reach a verdict and, in 2020, a first conviction was overturned for procedural reasons.
Since 2017, more than 80 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual violence. The founder of Miramax Studios, who now uses a wheelchair due to health problems, is still detained in the Rikers Island prison complex in New York.
