Harvey Weinstein begged for mercy in a Los Angeles courtroom just seconds before he was sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison for rape.
“Please don’t sentence me to life in prison,” the disgraced Hollywood star told the court. “I don’t deserve it.”
More than 80 people have made rape and misconduct claims about Weinstein dating back as far as the late 1970s.
The 70-year-old former film mogul was convicted of attacking an actress in a hotel room during a film festival in the city in February 2013.
He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for a separate conviction in New York.
Weinstein maintained his innocence and claimed he was the victim of a “set-up” prior to his sentencing on Thursday.
On 19 December, a Los Angeles jury convicted him of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault involving an actress.
The victim, known as Jane Doe 1 to protect her anonymity, spoke in court before the sentence was read.
She recounted the trauma she had endured for “many years” since the assault.
“Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman,” she said.
“Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.”
Weinstein, meanwhile, told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench he did not know the victim.
“I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1,” he said.
He told the court there were “so many things wrong” with the case and too many “loopholes”.
Weinstein called his accuser an “actress with the ability to turn on her tears”.
His attorneys – who had sought a three-year sentence for Weinstein – asked the judge to take into account his deteriorating health, his children and his “generous” donations to charity.
