Mistrial declared in Harvey Weinstein rape retrial after jury deadlocks on allegations

The jury had been tasked with deciding whether Weinstein — the former movie mogul who became a symbol of the #MeToo movement's campaign against sexual misconduct — raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013.

The judge in the rape retrial of Harvey Weinstein declared a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in the closely watched #MeToo-era case that another jury failed to decide last year.

After deliberating for about nine hours in total, the jury told the judge Friday afternoon that they would not be able to reach a verdict and that further deliberations would be fruitless. The judge said the trial would be rescheduled, but it was not clear when — or if prosecutors would bring charges for a fourth time.

Some jurors said outside court that nine out of 12 members of the jury wanted to acquit Weinstein. The three who voted to convict were all men, they said.

The signs of stalemate emerged a few hours into the third day of deliberations. Jurors earlier in the day sent a note saying they “have concluded that they cannot reach” a unanimous verdict. Judge Curtis Farber instructed the group to continue deliberating. That's generally what New York judges do at least the first time a jury says it's stuck.

Jurors then returned to their closed-door discussions, but were hopelessly deadlocked.

Weinstein, 74, showed little reaction as he was ushered from court, but his attorneys said later that he was pleased with the outcome.

“Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going to keep fighting,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that the defense believed it has "outstanding” prospects if the case is retried.

The majority-male jury had been tasked with deciding whether Weinstein — the former movie mogul who became a symbol of the #MeToo movement's campaign against sexual misconduct — raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013.

An appeals court overturned his 2020 New York conviction on charges that involved Mann and another accuser. At a retrial last year, jury deliberations broke down amid infighting on Mann’s portion of the case, leading to this current retrial. Weinstein was charged with one count of rape in the third degree.

Mann, 40, testified that she willingly had some sexual interludes with the then-married producer, but that he subjected her to unwanted sex that day after she repeatedly said no.

Weinstein's lawyers maintained that the encounter was consensual. They emphasized that Mann subsequently continued seeing Weinstein and expressing warmth toward him. Mann has said she was mired in complicated feelings about him, herself and what had happened.

Her viewpoint changed in 2017, when a series of allegations against the Oscar-winning Weinstein propelled #MeToo. Some of those accusations generated criminal convictions against Weinstein in New York and California.

Weinstein has said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, five days of it from Mann. Weinstein did not testify.

What stood out to jurors

Some jurors said they were struck by gaps in what Mann recalled, particularly when defense lawyers were questioning her.

“The prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story,” said juror Josh Hadar, 57. He favored acquittal: “I don't come to that easily, but it just seemed that there was enough reasonable doubt.”

Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, noted that she studied feminism and is well versed in #MeToo, but she also couldn't overcome uncertainties about Mann's account.

“There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it,” she said.

Accuser's reaction: 'I deserve justice'

Mann said in a statement that the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told.”

“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,” she said, maintaining she has continued to tell the truth throughout all three trials.

“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," she said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed Mann's “perseverance and bravery” and said in a statement that prosecutors will consult her about next steps. They're due to say next month whether they will retry the case.

The accuser's account

Mann, now 40, met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when she hoped to build a handful of acting credits into a big career. She said his pushy intimate overtures discomfited her at first, but she acceded to them and decided to develop a relationship with him.

However, she said she made it clear she didn’t want sex on March 18, 2013, when he unexpectedly got a room at a Manhattan hotel where she was staying with a friend.

“I said ‘no,’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” she told jurors during five days of intense testimony. She said Weinstein slammed the door, grabbed her arms and ordered her to undress. Scared, she gave up protesting, she said and alleged that he ultimately raped her.

Weinstein’s lawyers highlighted an introspective, private note that Mann wrote herself two days later. While saying nothing about the alleged rape, the note discussed her conflicted feelings about becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with a man she didn’t name. She testified that she hadn't needed to write down the alleged rape.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann has done.

Weinstein's defense

Weinstein didn’t testify. In his lawyers’ telling, Mann was a willing partner in a close, supportive relationship with a show-business insider who opened doors for her, but she turned on him once he became an outcast.

In the months and years after the New York encounter, Mann kept seeing and communicating with Weinstein, emails and testimony showed. At times, she pulled away to pursue another relationship; at others, she turned back to Weinstein, who validated her acting dreams and comforted her when her father was terminally ill.

“I love u. Anything u need,” Weinstein wrote.

He helped Mann land a movie audition — it went nowhere — and a hairstyling job. She asked him for help with such things as a car problem, though she declined cash that he tried to send when she couldn’t make rent.

In one of her last emails to Weinstein, in February 2017, she wrote: “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.” When he responded by suggesting she was “joking” and should stop using his company email, she said it was a joke and apologized.

Eight months later, news reports about other women's allegations prompted her to go to the police.

Mann never sued Weinstein, but after his 2020 conviction, she filed for and got about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund set up during his company’s bankruptcy. His lawyers didn't mention the payout at this trial.