Harvey Weinstein rape charge dropped after accuser says she cannot endure fourth trial

Charge dropped after three trials

Manhattan prosecutors on Thursday moved to drop the third-degree rape charge against Harvey Weinstein, ending a legal saga that spanned three trials without a final verdict. The charge stemmed from an allegation that Weinstein raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. Weinstein was initially convicted on that count in 2020, but the verdict was overturned on appeal in 2024 due to procedural errors unrelated to Mann's testimony. Two subsequent retrials, in 2025 and again this spring, both ended in hung juries after jurors could not reach a unanimous decision. The first retrial was declared a mistrial when the jury foreperson said other jurors were threatening him; the second ended in deadlock this May.

Accuser says she cannot testify again

Mann, now 40, wrote a letter to the court saying she "could no longer endure going through this" after testifying extensively in all three trials. She said the eight-year case had "put me through more harm than good" and that she wanted to close this chapter of her life. In a separate passage, Mann wrote that Weinstein "produced" the trials like he used to produce films, and that the court gave him privileges that made accountability nearly impossible. "I have not had power or position in any of this," she wrote. "I only had the courts and the ways it allows sexual predators to shield a jury from a magnitude of their actions and past crimes and charges - made Justice impossible for me."

To be clear, we believe Ms. Mann's account and her credibility as a witness. This has been an extraordinarily taxing ordeal for her, and she has never wavered while testifying in front of two grand juries and three trial juries over the course of eight years. We thank her for her honesty and her tremendous bravery.

Other convictions remain

The dismissal does not affect Weinstein's other convictions. He was found guilty in a separate New York case of sexually assaulting production assistant Miriam Haley, and he is awaiting sentencing in September, with prosecutors seeking 20 years. In California, he is serving a 16-year sentence for raping an Italian actor-model. Weinstein, 74, is appealing both convictions. The dropped rape charge carried a maximum penalty of four years, less time than he has already served.

Defense reaction

Weinstein's lawyers said the charge should never have been filed. "These charges should never have been brought from the start," attorney Jacob Kaplan said outside court. "He is innocent." The defense maintained that Weinstein and Mann had a consensual, on-and-off relationship lasting five years, and that the encounter in question was not a crime. Weinstein did not testify in any of the trials.

A landmark #MeToo case

The allegations against Weinstein, which surfaced in 2017, helped ignite the #MeToo movement. Once one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, with films like "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction," Weinstein has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex. The dropped charge was the last unresolved count from the original New York prosecution. Judge Curtis Farber formally dismissed the case on Thursday.