Harvey Weinstein’s negotiated surrender to a Manhattan police station on May 25th has prompted numerous questions about how he will be prosecuted, whether there will be an actual trial, and if he will end up in prison, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Weinstein is potentially facing two felony counts of rape and a charge for a criminal sex act. Since Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has yet to deliver an indictment—it is rare, but not unprecedented to make an arrest before a suspect is indicted—what happens next is unclear. The potential charges could send Weinstein to prison for 25 years if convicted, but Weinstein’s attorney is likely to seek a plea bargain, one centered around the lesser charge, if he believes the DA’s office has sufficient evidence to get a conviction.
There’s also the possibility that the charges could be split up into two different trials, given the fact that the accusations come from two different women. Should either of those cases go to trial, many will want to know whether the judge will allow other Weinstein accusers to testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, as happened in the Bill Cosby trial.
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