Annabella Sciorra breaks silence after Harvey Weinstein found not guilty of sex attacks against her
ANNABELLA Sciorra is speaking out after a jury found Harvey Weinstein not guilty of predatory sexual assault on Monday.
The actress, who alleged that she was raped by Weinstein in the 1990s said that she did not 'regret breaking the silence,' despite her emotional testimony not resulting in a conviction on the two charges that could have sent the disgraced mogul to jail for life.
: one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of rape in the third degree.
"My testimony was painful but necessary. I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart," said Sciorra on Monday.
"While we hope for continued righteous outcomes that bring absolute justice, we can never regret breaking the silence. For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women."
The prevailing counts were the charges of predatory sexual assault, one involving Mimi Haleyi and Sciorra and the second involving Jessica Mann and Sciorra.
In both cases, the jury came to a unanimous decision of not guilty on those charges, at which point they began to consider the lesser counts.
For Mimi, that was criminal sexual assault, and they returned a guilty verdict.
The jury again came to a not guilty decision on the lesser count of first degree rape in the case of Jessica Mann, but found Harvey guilty of the lowest charge of third-degree rape.
Harvey could not be charged with raping Annabella because the statute of limitations had expired in the case.
Sciorra's best friend and corroborating witness in the case, Rosie Perez, also spoke out about the verdict and how she felt about the jury's decision on Monday.
"HARVEY WEINSTEIN HAS BEEN HANDCUFFED & TAKEN TO JAIL! GUTTED FOR MY DEAR FRIEND #ANNABELLASCIORRA WHO TOLD THE TRUTH! YET I CONGRATULATE HER & ALL WHO CAME FORWARD FOR THEIR BRAVERY," wrote Perez on Twitter.
"THIS IS NOT ENOUGH BUT SURVIVORS TAKE COURAGE! THIS IS STILL A GREAT WIN! CONGRATS JOAN ILLUZZI!"
Weinstein was due to spend his first night at Riker's on Monday, but that all changed when he was taken to Bellevue Hospital around 5pm.
A spokesperson for Weinstein told The Sun that shortly after leaving the courthouse at 4:30pm on Monday, one of the medics ordered the ambulance transporting Weinstein to take him to the hospital for an unknown reason.
Weinsetin will now spend the night at that facility, which is the unit of choice for wards of the NYPD and Department of Corrections.
The mogul's time behind bars may be very brief though in the end.
In a statement to The Sun, Weinstein's lawyers expressed their "disappointment" in the guilty verdict handed down by a jury on Monday and said they'll be filing an appeal to challenge their client's "prejudiced" trial.
"While he was not convicted on the most serious charges, we are disappointed in the verdict and will be filing an appeal," his lawyers.
"There are issues in this trial that were extremely troubling and they prejudiced Mr. Weinstein's ability to have his case fairly judged. These will be addressed to a higher court.
After a jury found the convicted rapist guilty, he reportedly said: "I'm innocent. I'm innocent. I'm innocent. How could this happen in America?"
Weinstein's courtroom declaration was revealed during a press conference on Monday that was held by the defense team.
"The fight is not over," Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's attorney, told reporters outside the court while confirming she would be appealing the verdict.
"It is absolutely horrible for me to watch my client be taken into custody. We don't feel good about that at all."
At the same time, Donna suggested that her client is ready to fight these convictions.
"Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man," said the defense attorney.
"He knows that we will continue to fight for him and knows that this is not over."