NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein won't face a fourth trial on a New York rape charge. Prosecutors dropped the #MeToo-era case on Thursday after his accuser said she could not bear to testify again.
The movie mogul still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he remains behind bars. But the New York rape charge had remained unresolved after an overturned conviction followed by two hung juries.
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Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Adam Gray/Pool Photo via AP)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Adam Gray/Pool Photo via AP)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, spent days on the witness stand at all three trials, telling jurors that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and being questioned extensively about the complex relationship she had with him before and afterward. The Oscar-winning producer denied the charge and said everything that happened between him and Mann was consensual.
In a letter that prosecutor Nicole Blumberg quoted in court Thursday, Mann said she could “no longer endure going through this,” adding that the 8-year-old case has “put me through more harm than good.”
Blumberg told the court that prosecutors believe Mann and hail her “bravery, strength, courage and inspiration” to other survivors, but given her feelings about proceeding, “dismissal is appropriate.” With that, Judge Curtis Farber formally dismissed the case.
Weinstein left court with a neutral expression, returning to jail to await a September sentencing on a New York sexual assault conviction involving a different woman. Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison term.
Once Weinstein finishes whatever punishment he gets in New York, he's due to serve 16 years in California, where he was convicted of raping a third woman, who's an Italian actor. He is appealing both convictions.
Weinstein's lawyers said he was was relieved by the dismissal of the case surrounding Mann's allegation.
“These charges should never have been brought to begin with,” lawyer Jacob Kaplan said outside court. “He is innocent.”
Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with Weinstein, who was married at the time.
But she told jurors she repeatedly tried to leave and said no to any sexual activity as he cornered her in a hotel room on March 18, 2013. They had planned to meet in the lobby for breakfast, but he had spontaneously taken a room.
She said he persevered, demanding that she undress and grabbing her arms, until she was afraid to keep protesting.
The latest trial, this spring, took a visible toll on Mann, 40. During five days of testimony, she was questioned for the first time about a diarylike, soul-baring note she wrote two days after the alleged rape, which the note did not mention. At one point during her testimony, Mann said she was struggling to focus, prompting court to wrap up early for the day.
In her letter to the court Thursday, she said she had suffered a concussion shortly before her testimony, had headaches and other symptoms on the stand and ultimately “disassociated.” It was a humiliating addition to an already crushing experience, she wrote.
“I have been fragmented, silenced, defamed and traumatized. I’ve paid the price of my reputation,” Mann wrote. Slamming the court, the media and Weinstein, she said her experience showed that "pursuing justice is better left a pipe dream.”
Weinstein was one of the movie industry’s most powerful figures, a producer of such tastemakers and hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.”
Then a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo campaign for accountability and eventually leading to criminal charges in New York and Los Angeles.
He denied all of them and was acquitted of some, even as he was convicted of others.
During a series of trials, Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial, and jurors deadlocked again at this year's retrial.
The rape charge in this case was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein, 74, already has served.
Weinstein didn’t testify at any of the trials, though he complained during and after the 2025 New York retrial that it was unfair; the judge disagreed.
His lawyers have maintained that all his accusers had completely consensual sexual liaisons with a movie studio boss who could help them go places in show business. Weinstein himself has said he “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to be named, as Mann has done.
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Adam Gray/Pool Photo via AP)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Adam Gray/Pool Photo via AP)
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, June 25, 2026 in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. More were feared dead.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured and thousands were reported missing across the country. The coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of the capital, Caracas, experienced some of the heaviest damage and casualties, officials said.
Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas, where the country’s main airport was damaged and closed.
In cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into the streets and many walked among the debris searching for the missing. Television broadcasts showed rescue workers using power tools to get through piles of rubble.
In La Guaira, retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.
“God, let them rescue her as quickly as possible,” said Mendaño. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”
At another damaged apartment complex, residents shouted the names of missing people: “Mirna! Marquitos!”
Offers of help poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.
The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro's capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodriguez represents.
Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly and brother of the acting president, gave updated figures Thursday for the numbers of dead, trapped and injured.
Delcy Rodríguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which she described as a “disaster zone.”
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” she said.
Civilians and authorities pulled injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood out of concrete rubble. Some families sobbed in grief in front of their destroyed homes.
Rodríguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to help.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Officials urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could cause further damage.
During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.
In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.
“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”
Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her 8-year-old son was missing. Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.
“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.
Authorities warned people against returning to homes with structural damage. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.
“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”
“It was awful. We cried, we screamed. Thankfully, we’re alive,” she added.
Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Rodríguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.
Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives.
The U.N. human rights mission in Venezuela called on the government to lift local restrictions on social media so people can get more timely access to potentially life-saving information. In August 2024, Maduro ordered X blocked in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential elections.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and had instructed the economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.
Countries from across the world from Qatar to Mexico began to send aid to Venezuela. Rodríguez expressed thanks for the messages of support and offers for help.
International search-and-rescue teams are expected to start arriving in earthquake-hit Venezuela “in the coming hours,” the United Nations spokesman said early Friday afternoon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had spoken to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States is “immediately" deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of the airport in Caracas was creating some logistical challenges.
The United Nations on Thursday afternoon said international search-and-rescue teams were expected to arrive in Venezuela in the coming hours.
Garcia Cano reported from Bogota, Colombia, and Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Anna-Catherine Brigida in Mexico City, Danica Coto in San Juan, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia, and Edith Lederer at the United Nations, contributed to this report.
An injured woman walks in La Guaira, Venezuela, a day after an earthquake struck the area, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Damaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez)
Neighbors helps a man evacuate his damaged home after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A vehicle is trapped in a fissure caused by an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP PhotoJavier Campos)
Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
People camp on a sports court following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)
People stay outside their homes after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
People sleep outside their homes following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A boy comforts his mother after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
A man holding a dog cries after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Javier Campos)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Rescue worker carry an injured man after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
