Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s fall from grace was completed when a jury at the New York Supreme Court found him guilty of rape.
Weinstein was led from the dock in handcuffs proclaiming his innocence.
He left the court in an ambulance after complaining of chest pains after the judge ordered him to jail to await sentencing on March 11.
His was convicted of a criminal sexual act in the first degree against production assistant Mimi Haleyi and rape in the third degree against aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Together, the two cases carry a minimum of five years in jail and a possible maximum of 29 years.
Vicious sexual predator
Weinstein was found not guilty of the most serious offence he was charged with – two counts of predatory sexual assault which come with a life sentence. He was also acquitted of another count of first-degree rape.
Judge James Burke declined an application for bail and suggested Weinstein should be held in protective custody as more than 80 women alleged sexual assault and rape against him.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles have laid six more sex crime charges against him. If found guilty at the second trial, he could face another 28 years in jail.
Weinstein’s legal team say he will appeal the convictions and fight the other charges. Weinstein declined to give evidence in New York.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said: “Weinstein is a vicious, serial sexual predator who used his power to threaten, rape, assault and trick, humiliate and silence his victims.
Rape is rape
“This is the new landscape for survivors of sexual assault in America. It is a new day because Harvey Weinstein has finally been held accountable for crimes he committed.
“Weinstein with his manipulation, his resources, his attorneys, his publicists and his spies did everything he could to silence to survivors.
“These are eight women who hauled our justice system into the 21st century, by declaring that rape is rape, sexual assault is sexual assault, no matter what.
“Rape is rape, whether it is committed by a stranger in a dark alley or by an intimate partner, in a working relationship.
“Rape is rape whether by a homeless person or by a man with immense power and prestige and privilege. Rape is rape whether it is reported in an hour, or a year, or never.”