Prosecution stays case in Harvey Weinstein rape trial

The prosecution has completed its case in the People v. Harvey Weinstein case.

The Los Angeles trial is expected to last a total of two months, until December. On Thursday, the jury was told it would reconvene after Thanksgiving when the defense begins to present its case on Nov. 28.

Weinstein - who was previously convicted in New York and is serving his 23-year sentence — faces seven counts in the sprawling Los Angeles case: two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault. On these counts, he faces 60 years, if convicted.

Weinstein originally faced 11 charges and a maximum sentence of 140 years. Jane Doe #5, who was associated with those charges, is no longer a part of the case, so Weinstein won a motion to dismiss four charges. Prosecutors said earlier this week they would not proceed with the testimony of Jane Doe #5, but offered no explanation.

Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2, Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #4 all have testified over the past month, along with four other unindicted witnesses, whom the prosecution brought to the stand to help establish a pattern of Weinstein's behavior. (The charges Weinstein faces come only from Jane Doe's witnesses in the case, whose identities are being kept secret by the court.)

The prosecution is led by Deputy Prosecutors Paul Thompson and Marlene Martinez, who began presenting their case on October 24 after opening statements and jury selection, which was underway on October 10. Over the past month, prosecutors have presented a slew of witnesses who have accused Weinstein of rape and sexual assault, as well as supporting witnesses to corroborate parts of their stories.

The most important witness in the case is actress and filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newson, the first partner from California who is married to Governor Gavin Newsom. During her moving testimony this week, she sobbed on the stand while detailing her allegations of being raped by Weinstein in 2005.

Another of the charged witnesses is Lauren Young, an aspiring actress and screenwriter represented by attorney Gloria All red. She accused Weinstein of cornering her in a hotel bathroom, groping her and masturbating in front of her during a business meeting. Young also testified in Weinstein's trial in New York; she is the only woman to have testified in both trials. Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who was at the center of an NYPD sting operation against Weinstein in 2015, also testified earlier this month as an unindicted witness.

Throughout the past month, the prosecution has presented women who have relayed similar patterns of the Weinstein's alleged behavior: abuse of power, using business meetings to sexually assault women, showing up unannounced in hotel rooms in the middle of the night, masturbating in front of women, and ejaculating on the floor. The prosecution had also told the jury that each woman would describe Weinstein's body. During the testimony, the witnesses went into great detail recalling her deformed genitals. Prosecutors made it clear to the jury that none of the women knew each other.

During opening statements, prosecutors argued that Weinstein had a habit of sexually abusing d aspiring actors, models and writers in the field of entertainment. On the other side, Weinstein's defense