The jury spends a week without a verdict in the Weinstein rape trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The jury in Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual misconduct trial in Los Angeles has been deliberating for a week without returning a verdict.

The jury of eight men and four women went home Friday afternoon and will return Monday morning to continue deliberations.

They must decide two counts of rape and five other counts of sexual assault against the 70-year-old former film magnate.

The jury had no questions for the court that would provide an indication of the status of their work.

They got the case at the end of closing arguments on December 2nd. They consulted for 5 1/2 days, or about 24 hours total.

The only issue raised, and the only time the attorneys have returned to the courtroom in a week, came on Friday morning when one of the five alternate jurors asked if he could be excused about travel plans. Weinstein’s attorneys objected, and the judge denied the motion.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 04: Former film producer Harvey Weinstein (L) interacts with his attorney Mark Werksman at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on October 4, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Harvey Weinstein was extradited from New York to Los Angeles on sexual charges. (Photo by Etienne Laurent-Pool/Getty Images)

Weinstein still has more than 20 years in prison in New York after a conviction there for rape and sexual assault is being appealed.

In California, he could face 60 years in prison if convicted on all counts involving all four women he has accused of assault.

All four testified at the trial, along with four other accusers who testified for prosecutors attempting to show a disposition for such actions by Weinstein.

Prosecutors asked the jury to end the “reign of terror” of a man they called a “degenerate rapist.”

Weinstein’s attorneys argued that two of the women’s allegations were entirely fabricated and two years later reformulated consensual sexual encounters as assault after the #MeToo movement targeted Weinstein.

He has pleaded not guilty and has denied engaging in non-consensual sex.