Rape. Harvey Weinstein avoids trial after the plaintiff's withdrawal

Harvey Weinstein is not facing a fourth trial on a rape charge in New York. The prosecutors today abandoned the case of the #MeToo era, after the plaintiff said she could not bear to testify again.

The movie tycoon was convicted of another sex crime in New York and others in California, and is still in prison.

But the rape charge in New York remained unsolved after an overturned conviction followed by two jury without a verdict.

Jessica Mann, hairdresser and actress, spent days on the stand in all three trials, telling the judges that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and was extensively questioned about the complex relationship she had with the filmmaker before and after.

The producer and winner of an Oscar denied the charge and said that everything that happened between him and Mann was consensual.

In a letter quoted today in court by prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, Mann said that he could no longer “support going through this”, adding that the case of eight years had “deeply affected it”. This “would cause me more harm than good,” he added.

Blumberg told the court that prosecutors believe in Mann and praise his “courage, strength and inspiration” for other survivors, but given the state and that he feels to continue, “the withdrawal is appropriate.” With that, Judge Curtis Farber formally dropped the case.

Weinstein left the courtroom with a neutral expression, returning to prison to await a sentence in September for a conviction for sexual assault in New York, involving another woman.

The prosecutors are asking for a 20-year prison sentence. After Weinstein fulfills the punishment he receives in New York, he will have to serve 16 years in California, where he was convicted of raping a third woman, who is an Italian actress.

The film producer is using both convictions. Weinstein's lawyers said he was relieved that the case was dropped around Mann's claim.

“ These accusations should never have been brought from the outset,” lawyer Jacob Kaplan said outside the court, adding: “He is innocent.”.

Mann testified that he had an intermittent relationship with Weinstein, who was then married. But the actress told the jurors that she tried several times to leave and said no to any sexual activity, and he cornered her in a hotel room on March 18, 2013.

According to Mann the two had planned to meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast, but he had spontaneously booked a room. She said he insisted, demanding that she undress and grab her arms, until she was afraid to continue protesting.

The most recent trial this spring had a visible effect on 40 - year - old Mann. During five days of testimony, she was first questioned about a daily note, stripping her soul, which she wrote two days after the alleged rape, although the note did not mention it.

At one point during his testimony, Mann said he was having trouble concentrating, which led the court to close the hearing earlier that day.

In his letter to the court today, Mann said that he had suffered a traumatic brain injury shortly before his testimony, had headaches and other symptoms during his intervention and ended up “disfellowshipping”.

That was already an additional humiliation, in an already overwhelming experience, he wrote. “I was fragmented, silenced, defamed and traumatized. I paid the price of my reputation,” Mann added.

Criticizing the court, the media, and Weinstein, the actress said that her experience showed that “seeking justice is best considered an impossible dream.”.

Weinstein was one of the most powerful figures in the film industry, producer of iconic films such as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolate.”

He later saw a series of allegations of sexual misconduct against becoming public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo campaign for accountability and eventually leading to criminal charges in New York and Los Angeles.

He denied all charges and was acquitted of some, but was convicted in others.

The charge of rape in this case was a lower-level crime punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein, 74, has already done.