Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison

Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for raping an aspiring actress and for committing a criminal sex act against a production assistant.

Weinstein reportedly spoke in his own defense and compared the #MeToo movement to McCarthyism prior to the judge announcing the sentence. 

"Thousands of men are losing due process. I'm worried about this country," said Weinstein.

"Rape is not just one moment of penetration. It is forever," said Jessica Mann, the aspiring actress who Weinstein was convicted of raping, before sentencing this morning.

The 67-year-old Weinstein was convicted last month on the charges. He faced a sentence of five and 29 years behind bars.

Judge James Burke presided over the sentencing and decided how long Weinstein would serve.

Weinstein has been in custody since the verdict in February in a New York City court. His time has been split between Rikers Island jail and the hospital, where last week he had a heart procedure.

The defense asked for a 5-year sentence, arguing that Weinstein has lost everything. 

“His fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media,” read a letter to the judge.

The prosecution had asked for a sentence that “reflects the seriousness of defendant’s offenses,” citing a “lifetime of abuse towards others, sexual and otherwise.”

Weinstein was acquitted of the two most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which might’ve earned him a lifetime sentence. He faces felony charges in Los Angeles of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force, and sexual battery by restraint.