Charges against Harvey Weinstein dropped after actress says she can't bear to testify anymore

Harvey Weinstein in Manhattan court, New York, this Friday (15)
Timothy A. Clary/Pool via REUTERS
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will not face a new rape trial in New York.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors closed the case this Thursday (25), after the accuser, hairdresser and actress Jessica Mann, declared that she was no longer emotionally and physically capable of testifying.
The case, emblematic of the #MeToo era, had been going on for eight years and had already seen an overturned conviction and two hung jury trials.
The decision to close the case came from a letter from Mann read in court, in which she stated that the case had brought her "more harm than good" and that the legal process had left her "fragmented, silenced, defamed and traumatized."
She reported suffering a concussion shortly before her testimony, experiencing headaches and other symptoms while giving her statement, and ultimately suffering "dissociation." It was "a humiliating aggravation to an already overwhelming experience," she wrote.
"To be clear, we believe Ms. Mann's account and her credibility as a witness," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "This was an extremely exhausting ordeal for her, and she never wavered as she testified before two grand juries and three grand juries over the course of eight years. We thank her for her honesty and for her immense courage."
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Producer remains in prison
Despite the dismissal of this specific charge, the 74-year-old former Hollywood producer remains in prison. He awaits a September sentencing in New York on another sexual assault conviction involving a different woman, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years.
In addition, when he finishes his pending cases in New York, Weinstein must serve a 16-year prison sentence in California for raping an Italian actress. He is appealing both convictions.
Weinstein's defense celebrated the decision, reiterating his claim of innocence and stating that the accusations should never have been made, maintaining that all relationships were consensual.
Weinstein, once one of the most powerful figures in world cinema behind hits like "Pulp Fiction", saw his empire crumble in 2017 with mass allegations of sexual harassment and abuse that boosted the #MeToo movement globally.

Source: G1