Convicted sex offender, Harvey Weinstein, remains hospitalized at New York’s Bellevue Hospital after being convicted of rape in the third degree and committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, the Guardian reported on Friday.
Prior to being sent to the hospital by New York City Department of Corrections officials, Weinstein was set to be held at Rikers Island in New York until his March 11 sentencing.
On Saturday, the convicted rapist was spotted lounging at the hospital, according to pictures obtained by WPIX.
A source told the news outlet Weinstein has been “free to roam” around and hasn’t been handcuffed during his hospital stay.
He’s said to be “walking with the aid of a wheelchair,” and had been “holding on to its handles to go to the TV room, using it as a walker.”
On Friday morning, “he spent about an hour” in the TV room before he “walked himself back.”
Weinstein was hospitalized after experiencing high blood pressure and heart palpitations, CNN reported earlier this week. His lawyer Donna Rotunno previously claimed Weinstein had “significant medical issues”—including a need to use a walker because of an unsuccessful back operation following a car accident last year, as his attorneys said in court.
“He’s under the care of five doctors currently. He’s dealing with the remnants of his back operation, which was not successful. He’s in need of the walker,” the defense team said this week, adding, “He takes a list of different medicines. Judge, he’s currently receiving shots in his eyes so he does not go blind.”
Weinstein will serve anywhere from 5 to 29 years in prison following the jury’s ruling this week.
(Criminal sexual act in the first degree carries with it a minimum prison term of 5 years and a maximum of 25 years; rape in the third degree does not have a minimum sentence associated with a conviction, but includes a maximum prison term of four years.)
On Thursday, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala told the Hollywood Reporter that his client was focused on appealing the verdict and had provided Aidala with some guidance while at the hospital. “He was the Harvey that I know,” Aidala said of the convicted rapist. “He asked a lot of relevant questions about what’s happening, what the next steps are. He gave some directions about how to proceed. I needed some directions on how to proceed. He just was looking forward to my visit [on Friday] so we can go over things face-to-face in more detail.”
After Weinstein was accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women (claims he has long denied), his conviction was hailed as a significant legal victory for the #MeToo movement.