Harvey Weinstein Rape Charge Ends in Mistrial Again as Jury Deadlocks for Third Time

The long-running legal battle surrounding Harvey Weinstein hit another turning point on Friday after a New York jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on a third-degree rape charge involving aspiring actress Jessica Mann. Judge Curtis Farber declared a mistrial after jurors spent three days deliberating without a consensus.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office now has 30 days to decide whether it wants to prosecute Weinstein on the same count for a fourth time.

Weinstein, 74, remains behind bars. Last June, he was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley after New York’s highest court overturned his landmark 2020 conviction and ordered a retrial. Jurors, however, once again deadlocked on Mann’s allegation, the same charge that has now failed to produce a verdict across multiple trials.

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Farber has postponed Weinstein’s sentencing until the unresolved rape charge is addressed. Weinstein could still face up to 25 years in prison based on the Haley conviction alone. Separately, the former producer is already serving a 16-year sentence tied to his 2023 rape conviction in Los Angeles, though that verdict remains under appeal.

During the retrial, Mann spent five days on the stand revisiting allegations she had previously testified about in two earlier proceedings. She accused Weinstein of raping her inside a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013.

Weinstein’s defense team argued that Mann willingly maintained a relationship with the disgraced producer after the alleged assault. Attorneys pointed to affectionate messages Mann had sent Weinstein, including texts that read, “Miss you, big guy,” and “Appreciate all you do for me.”

Following the mistrial ruling, Mann released a lengthy statement defending both her testimony and her decision to repeatedly return to court. Mann said, “I chose to testify in three trials because I am telling the truth. 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.”

She continued, “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.” Mann also argued that the repeated legal stalemate reflects a larger imbalance of power. “The power of predators remains too great. I deserve justice,” she said.

Weinstein’s spokesperson also issued a statement shortly after the mistrial was declared, saying the jury’s inability to convict demonstrates “significant reasonable doubt” surrounding the charge.

“For some people, regardless of the evidence presented, saying ‘not guilty’ has become emotionally or socially impossible,” the statement read.

The spokesperson also criticized Manhattan prosecutors for continuing to retry the same allegation instead of prioritizing “actual violent crime, chaos and public safety issues impacting New Yorkers every day.”

At Weinstein’s retrial last year, jurors acquitted him of sexually assaulting former model Kaja Sokola. The former studio boss continues to challenge his Los Angeles conviction as well. In that case, Weinstein was found guilty of raping an Italian model during a film festival in 2013. His legal team has denied that the encounter took place and argued that key evidence supporting Weinstein’s alibi was improperly excluded during trial proceedings.