Harvey Weinstein asks for 'mercy' as he's jailed for 15 years for sex crime

In short:

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years for sexually assaulting a production assistant in 2006.

The court heard the now disgraced Hollywood producer had invited Miriam Haley back to his Manhattan apartment when he assaulted her.

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence the now 74-year-old to 20 years in prison.

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a production assistant at his Manhattan apartment 20 years ago.

Miriam Haley, who has given permission to be identified, said she met Weinstein through a mutual connection and worked briefly as a production assistant on a reality competition show he produced, Project Runway.

Prosecutors asked the court to sentence the now 74-year-old to 20 years in prison, keeping him behind bars until at least his late 80s.

Weinstein was a top Oscar-winning film producer until sexual misconduct allegations led to his downfall and fuelled a wider social movement, known as #MeToo, that encouraged women to come forward with accounts of sexual abuse by powerful men.

He has denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.

Weinstein has already served six years for the crime

Ms Haley said she accepted an invitation to visit Weinstein's Manhattan apartment in 2006 and after briefly chatting with him on his living room sofa, he lunged to kiss her, she told the court. 

Ms Haley said she leaped up and rebuffed him, but he grabbed her, forcibly backed her into a bedroom and sexually assaulted her, ignoring her pleas to stop.

The court heard there was another occasion where Ms Haley had unwanted, but not forced, sex with Weinstein.

Weinstein has already served more than six years for this offence as the case has cycled through the criminal justice system. 

He was originally sentenced to 23 years in prison after a jury convicted Weinstein of assaulting Ms Haley and raping aspiring actress, Jessica Mann, in 2013.

But New York’s highest court erased those guilty verdicts two years ago, ruling that Weinstein was prejudiced by testimony from other women whose allegations were not part of the case.

He went on trial for a second time last year and was again convicted of assaulting Ms Haley, but the jury could not reach a verdict on the rape charge involving Ms Mann. 

After another retrial ended in a hung jury in May, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the rape charge after Ms Mann said she could not bear to testify again. 

That has cleared the way for Weinstein to be sentenced for the sexual assault he committed against Ms Haley.

He is also awaiting re-sentencing in a separate rape case in Los Angeles. 

More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.