Harvey Weinstein returns to Rikers Island following shocking reversal of rape conviction
One day after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned in a New York appeals court on Thursday, Harvey Weinstein is having his "medical needs tended to" upon his return to Rikers Island on Saturday.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S APPEAL BLAMING ‘ME TOO’ FOR CONVICTION IS ‘DESPERATE’ LAST-DITCH ATTEMPT: EXPERT
"Harvey is in the hands of NYC Department of Corrections and NYC H+H/Correctional Health Services and is having his medical needs tended to by DOCS and CHS," Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein's prison consultant and authorized DOCS representative, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We are grateful for how smoothly they handled his eventual return to Bellevue's prison ward."
Weinstein’s representative, Juda Engelmayer, told Fox News Digital that Weinstein returned to Rikers Island on Saturday morning.
"At the same time, we‘re cautiously optimistic and are prepared to go to trial, if it comes to that," Engelmayer added. "There are fewer charges now and the deck isn’t going to be illegally stacked against him. While we all enjoy the same rights when it comes to our justice system, a defendant has an additional right to due process. We are glad the Appeals Court judges saw it that way."
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
On Thursday, in a 4-3 decision, the appeals court found that Weinstein's trial judge allowed prosecutors to call women who said Weinstein had assaulted them to testify, even though their accusations did not specifically relate to the entertainment mogul's charges.
Weinstein is expected to return to court on May 1, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
An attorney for Weinstein did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The former Hollywood film producer - who was accused of sexual assault and rape by more than 80 women - was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the 1990s. He has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
"Justice was served. I believe this decision is larger than Harvey Weinstein," Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's defense lawyer, told Fox News in a statement on Thursday. "Courts cannot operate on emotion and lack of due process. The world is off-balance, and when the justice system does not work, nothing does. This decision restores faith in the foundation of our system."
ASHLEY JUDD SUES HARVEY WEINSTEIN, SAYS HE 'TORPEDOED’ HER CAREER
However, though the New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s conviction, that does not mean he is getting out of prison.
After Weinstein's sentencing in New York in 2020, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to face sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
Additionally, in December 2022, he was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. Weinstein also faces charges in London for two alleged offenses in 1996.
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz, Michael Dorgan and Tracy Wright contributed to this post.