Harvey Weinstein is set to be locked up for a very long time.
On Wednesday, New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke sentenced the former movie mogul to 23 years in prison, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The sentencing comes after Weinstein was convicted on Feb. 24 on charges of committing a Criminal Sexual Act in the first degree and third-degree rape.
The conviction was related to accusations by two women who testified to being sexually assaulted and raped by Weinstein during the 2000s.
In addition to the prison sentence, the 67-year-old will be registered as a sex offender in the state of New York.
“This was a miscarriage of justice from the beginning of the process until now,” a rep for Weinstein said in a statement to ET Canada. “His sentence doesn’t commensurate with the conviction and we believe on appeal, the court’s prejudice and the Prosecution’s looseness with evidence and procedures, along with the extreme biases that faced Mr. Weinstein before he walked into the courtroom, the evidence will show that this case had no merit.”
Burke gave Weinstein 20 years in prison, plus five years of supervised release for the first-degree conviction, along with three years in prison on the third-degree count.
In a statement to ET Canada, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said, “We thank the court for imposing a sentence that puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice. We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years. Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent. But they refused to be silent, and they were heard. Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world.”
Addressing the judge prior to the sentencing, Weinstein said, “I have great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all women. I really feel remorse for this situation. I feel it deeply in my heart.”
“I am totally confused,” he also said, according to Variety. “I think men are confused about all of this…this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country. This is not the right atmosphere in the United States of America.”
The two accusers also spoke before the sentencing.
“It scarred me deeply, mentally and emotionally,” one woman who was assaulted told the judge. “What he did not only stripped me of my dignity as a human being and a woman but it crushed my confidence.”
The other woman added, “I don’t know how to explain the horrors of being raped by someone who has power. The impact on the psyche is profound. Rape is not just one moment… it is forever.”
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Weinstein had not testified during the trial, which began on Jan. 6. He had faced five charges, and was convicted on two. His attorney Donna Rotunno had argued prior to sentencing for a shorter prison sentence, due to the former producer’s “long list of illnesses.”
The lead prosecutor in the case argued for “the maximum or near the maximum” sentence, which would have been up to 29 years.
Following the sentencing, Weinstein was wheeled out of court in a wheelchair.
Since last Thursday, Weinstein has been held at Rikers Island Correctional Center after undergoing a heart procedure. Following the sentencing he will be transferred to New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The Silence Breakers, a group of Weinstein accusers, which includes Ashley Judd, Rosanna Arquette, and Rose McGowan, released a statement on the sentencing Wednesday.
“Harvey Weinstein’s legacy will always be that he’s a convicted rapist,” the group said. “He is going to jail – but no amount of jail time will repair the lives he ruined, the careers he destroyed, or the damage he has caused.”
On Twitter, a number of accusers and their supporters reacted to the news.
In a statement, Time’s Up said of the sentencing, “First and foremost, we are grateful for the courage and strength of Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young, who bravely testified in court, and we remain in solidarity with the more than 100 survivors who suffered abuse, harassment, and rape at the hands of Harvey Weinstein. The trauma of sexual assault and harassment is lifelong — we can only hope that today’s sentence brings all of the survivors of Harvey Weinstein some measure of peace.
“We also hope that these women take pride in knowing the impact they have had on our culture at large,” the statement continued. “Whether by inspiring more survivors to come forward and seek help, changing how the justice system responds to sexual violence, or leading corporate boards to hold more CEOs accountable for toxic workplace culture, the social change catalyzed by these survivors has been nothing short of transformational.”
Weinstein was taken to NYC’s Rikers Island jail, where the New York Daily News reported he had been placed on suicide watch.
While at Rikers, Weinstein complained of chest pains and was taken to Bellevue Hospital “for safety,” a rep for Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
While at Bellevue, the rep said, Weinstein “will be evaluated and likely will stay overnight,” adding, “We appreciate the care and concern of the Department of Corrections officers and staff.”
