A New York jury deadlocked in Harvey Weinstein’s rape case involving aspiring actress Jessica Mann, prompting a mistrial in May. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says prosecutors will not retry the count, after discussions with Mann, who told the court
A New York jury deadlocked in Harvey Weinstein’s rape case involving aspiring actress Jessica Mann. and the courtroom verdict never arrived. By May. the judge declared a mistrial—setting off a sequence that would end. weeks later. with prosecutors dismissing the rape charge and Mann stepping back from further litigation.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his office will not retry Weinstein. 74. after the case ended in a mistrial in May. In a June 25 press release. Bragg said the decision followed discussions with Mann. who “does not wish to testify again” in what would have been the fourth trial in the matter.
“In accordance with our survivor-centered approach to prosecutions, we informed the court that we will not retry the remaining count” of rape in the third degree, the press release said. “To be clear, we believe Ms. Mann’s account and her credibility as a witness.”
The release described the case as “an extraordinarily taxing ordeal for” Mann, who “never wavered while testifying in front of two grand juries and three trial juries over the course of eight years.” Prosecutors said they “thank her for her honesty and her tremendous bravery.”
The decision also reflected Weinstein’s existing conviction record. Bragg said his office will not pursue a fourth trial and “therefore moved to dismiss” the charge “in consideration of Ms. Mann’s stance, and in recognition of Mr. Weinstein’s class B felony conviction for violently sexually assaulting Miriam Haley.” Bragg added that the office shared a sentencing recommendation to the court: 20 years in prison. “which would account for the significant harms his actions have caused Ms. Haley.” He said. “I want survivors of sexual violence in Manhattan to know that we believe you. and we will fight for you. We stand with survivors, today and every day.”.
Weinstein’s attorney, Juda Engelmayer, said the dismissal should be seen as a result prosecutors didn’t have to pursue. In a statement, Engelmayer said: “Harvey is relieved by today’s outcome. We believe this is the result that should have been reached from the outset. had the grand jury been presented with the full scope of the emails. text messages. and other private communications.”.
Engelmayer also argued that Weinstein’s prior sentence was “excessive. ” adding that Weinstein’s lawyers “intend to challenge the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations.” He said Weinstein “has been a model inmate for nearly seven years” and that his record. “along with the other relevant factors. should be given significant weight at sentencing.”.
Mann broke her silence in a statement to the court, obtained in the fallout of the mistrial. She said it was her decision not to move forward with further litigation.
“It was clear to me at this last trial I could no longer endure going through this any longer. ” Mann said. She described the cost of pursuing the case as life-altering. “In my fight to see justice. it has nearly stolen a decade of my life and put me through more harm than good. It has changed me in irrevocable ways that I live with permanently – that there is no restitution for. A cost I have been willing to pay over and over.”.
Mann referred to Weinstein in her statement as “Jack the Rapist. ” and she said she could only hope he would serve time tied to the crimes he was convicted of “individually.” She wrote that this was meant “to honor the wake of women’s bodies he left in ruin – that were harmed on different days. different years. different times. different places. different eras. different ways.”.
She also used the moment to condemn predators broadly. saying: “If only the ill-intentioned walked around in dark anti-hero capes with their mission to take over the world embroidered. How wonderful it would be to distinguish collectively the forces of evil. How wonderful it would be to recognize a predator like the antagonist in a Hollywood film.”.
The case began with allegations that Weinstein raped Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. The mistrial followed after a New York jury told Judge Curtis Farber on May 15 that it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. The latest proceedings again ended without a unanimous result.
The pattern matters: Weinstein had already been through multiple phases of trial. appeal. and retrial involving other allegations tied to his conduct. He was first tried in 2020. when a jury found him guilty of Mann’s alleged 2013 rape and of assaulting his onetime production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. He was sentenced to 23 years. but the conviction was later overturned when a higher court determined Weinstein did not receive a fair trial.
Weinstein was retried in 2025, when he was found guilty of sexually abusing Haley and not guilty of assaulting former model Kaja Sokola. In that retrial, the rape charge involving Mann again ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.
The latest dismissal lands while Weinstein is serving another prison term. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for a 2022 rape conviction in California, which he has appealed.
During the most recent trial’s opening statements, prosecutors accused Weinstein of preying on young women in Hollywood. Prosecutor Candace White described him as targeting “fragile and sheltered” young women. Weinstein’s defense attorney Jacob Kaplan pushed back, saying Mann fabricated the allegation because of regret over the romance. Kaplan called Mann a “strong and capable” woman and argued the case would come down to “her word against her word.”.
After the mistrial was declared on May 15. Mann reacted with another statement to the court. saying the mistrial ruling did not change what she called the truth of the account. “Today’s decision to declare a mistrial doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told and the violent crimes Harvey Weinstein committed upon me and so many others. ” she said. She added that for years she had to relive “some of the hardest moments” while facing attempts to “shame. humiliate and discredit” her in open court. She said she submitted to the “highest standards. transparency. and accountability” by choosing to testify “in three trials. ” and she framed her decision as an effort to insist that “predators are not in power.”.
Outside the courtroom, other public figures also weighed in. Judi Dench said Weinstein has “done his time” as he serves an assault conviction in New York.
Harvey Weinstein Jessica Mann Alvin Bragg mistrial third-degree rape Manhattan District Attorney Curtis Farber criminal justice survivor-centered prosecutions courtroom testimony Miriam Haley