A month after testifying against him and accusing him of rape, Sopranos star Annabella Sciorra has broken her silence on Harvey Weinstein‘s recent guilty verdict.
On Jan. 23, the 59-year-old actress alleged to a court jury that nearly 27 years ago, Weinstein, 67, had forced his way into her New York City apartment before throwing her onto a bed forcefully and raping her as she tried to fight him off.
“My testimony was painful but necessary,” Sciorra told People in a statement on Monday. “I spoke for myself and with the strength of the eighty plus victims of Harvey Weinstein in my heart.”
Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul, was found guilty on two counts of sexual assault Monday in his much-publicized trial.
He was found guilty of a criminal sex act for assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 and third-degree rape of a woman in 2013. The jury found him not guilty on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, which could have resulted in a life sentence.
Sciorra first accused Weinstein of raping her in 2017. Alongside actor Daryl Hannah, she was quoted in a New Yorker article detailing the horrors of her alleged sexual encounter with the once-powerful Hollywood producer.
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“While we hope for continued righteous outcomes that bring absolute justice, we can never regret breaking the silence,” she said in her statement. “For in speaking truth to power we pave the way for a more just culture, free of the scourge of violence against women.”
Weinstein was not charged with attacking Sciorra, whose accusations date too far back to be prosecuted. Instead, she testified as one of four additional accusers prosecutors intend to put on the stand to show that Weinstein had a habit of preying on women.
According to CNBC, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison for the first-degree sex act assault conviction, and between probation and four years in prison for the third-degree rape conviction.
Cumulatively, he could face a maximum sentence of nearly 30 years behind bars. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.
— With files from the Associated Press
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