55°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Weinstein accuser Haleyi thankful to be ‘heard and believed’

NEW YORK — One of the women Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting said Tuesday that the verdict made her feel grateful to be “heard and believed.”

“It was just a huge relief. It was a huge relief that the jury got it,” Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant who accused Weinstein of forcing oral sex on her in 2006, said on “CBS This Morning.”

“I just think that we’re being educated about the reality of sexual assault and sexual assault victims,” she said. “It’s not always just a stranger. It’s very often somebody that the person knows, and with that comes an entire other layer of processing.”

Weinstein faces a possible sentence of five to 29 years after a Manhattan jury convicted him of sexually assaulting Haleyi and raping an aspiring actress in 2013. He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault.

Attorneys for Weinstein, who has maintained that any sex between him and his accusers was consensual, said they would appeal.

Taken to hospital

The former Hollywood powerhouse, who claims to suffer from health problems including a bad back, was taken to a jail unit at Bellevue Hospital on Monday to be checked out for heart palpitations and high blood pressure. Sentencing was set for March 11.

Asked about Weinstein on Tuesday, President Donald Trump called the disgraced producer’s conviction a “great victory” for women that “sends a very strong message.”

“He was a person I didn’t like,” Trump told reporters during a news conference in India. “The people that liked him were the Democrats. Michelle Obama loved him. Loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him.”

Trump himself stands accused of sexual misconduct, including a rape allegation, by more than a dozen women when he was a private citizen. He has denied the allegations and has not been charged in any of the alleged sexual assaults.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Former senator, VP candidate Joe Lieberman dies at 82

Joe Lieberman nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000 and almost became Republican John McCain’s running mate in 2008.

Mansion where Menendez brothers murdered their parents sells for $17M

The lavish Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers fatally shot their parents in 1989 has sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years to the day after the brothers were convicted of the brutal murders.