Harvey Weinstein jailed for 15 years for sex crime against his assistant

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a production assistant at his Manhattan apartment 20 years ago.

Miriam Haley, who has given permission to be identified, said she met Weinstein through a mutual connection and worked briefly as a production assistant on a reality competition show he produced, Project Runway.

In sentencing Weinstein, Judge Curtis Farber described the 74-year-old as a "sexual predator" whose recognition in the movie industry would "pale in comparison to what you did”.

But Ms Haley told the court, while Weinstein got 15 years, she had received a "life sentence".

"Having been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein has had a devastating effect on my life and sense of security that may never go away," she said during Wednesday's sentencing.

“I’ve been further traumatised in exercising my right to hold him accountable.

"All of this traces back to his actions."

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence Weinstein to 20 years in prison, who faced a maximum sentence of 25 years for the crime.

Weinstein was a top Oscar-winning film producer until sexual misconduct allegations led to his downfall and fuelled a wider social movement, known as #MeToo, that encouraged women to come forward with accounts of sexual abuse by powerful men.

Weinstein apologised in court but denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.

"I do have remorse for Miriam Haley's pain, but I have to reiterate my innocence," he told the judge.

Ms Haley said she accepted an invitation to visit Weinstein's Manhattan apartment in 2006 and after briefly chatting with him on his living room sofa, he lunged to kiss her, she told the court.

Ms Haley said she leaped up and rebuffed him, but he grabbed her, forcibly backed her into a bedroom and sexually assaulted her, ignoring her pleas to stop.

The court heard there was another occasion where Ms Haley had unwanted, but not forced, sex with Weinstein.

Weinstein has already served more than six years for this offence as the case has cycled through the criminal justice system.

He was originally sentenced to 23 years in prison after a jury convicted Weinstein of assaulting Ms Haley and raping aspiring actress, Jessica Mann, in 2013.

But New York’s highest court erased those guilty verdicts two years ago, ruling that Weinstein was prejudiced by testimony from other women whose allegations were not part of the case.

He went on trial for a second time last year and was again convicted of assaulting Ms Haley, but the jury could not reach a verdict on the rape charge involving Ms Mann.

After another retrial ended in a hung jury in May, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the rape charge after Ms Mann said she could not bear to testify again.

That has cleared the way for Weinstein to be sentenced for the sexual assault he committed against Ms Haley.

He is also awaiting re-sentencing in a separate rape case in Los Angeles.

More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.