Since the #MeToo movement began, a large number of male celebrities have been accused of sexual misconduct, but only a handful of those in the music and film industries have actually faced criminal charges.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has now joined the shortlist of persecuted stars.
Here is a list of some of the most prominent men facing criminal charges in recent years, and the outcome of those cases:
The ex-movie mogul was prosecuted in both New York and California after dozens of women publicly accused themselves of sexual assault.
In the Los Angeles case, a jury convicted Weinstein in 2022 of raping and sexually assaulting one of the four women he was accused of. The three guilty parties involved an Italian actor and model who said Weinstein showed up uninvited to her hotel room during a 2013 Los Angeles film festival.
Weinstein, 72, was later acquitted of a charge of sexual assault by a massage therapist who treated him at a hotel in 2010. The jury could not reach a decision on charges involving two other prosecutors. A mistrial was declared on these counts.
In the New York case, Weinstein was initially convicted in 2020 of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another, followed by weeks of harrowing and graphic testimony from a series of accusers. But his 23-year prison sentence and conviction were overturned earlier this year, with New York’s highest court saying the judge improperly allowed testimony on allegations that were not part of the case.
A new trial has been scheduled and Manhattan prosecutors filed a new indictment this week with additional allegations from another woman. The trial was scheduled to begin in November, but likely won’t begin until 2025.
Weinstein, who also faces several civil lawsuits filed by women accusing him of sexual misconduct, denies he sexually assaulted anyone and is appealing his conviction in California.
The former “Cosby Show” star was the first celebrity to stand trial in the #MeToo era.
He was arrested in 2015 when a prosecutor, armed with newly made public evidence — Cosby’s damaging testimony in a lawsuit filed by Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand — filed charges against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired was about to expire. Constand accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her.
The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual violence without their consent, which Constand has granted.
Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict when Cosby went on trial in 2017. During a second trial in 2018, he was sentenced to a maximum of ten years in prison. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said in 2021 that the prosecutor who made the decision to arrest Cosby was obligated to abide by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby, even though there was no evidence the agreement ever ended. was written.
Cosby, now 87, has been accused of rape, assault and sexual harassment by more than 60 women. He has denied all allegations of sex crimes.
Federal juries in Chicago and New York convicted Kelly, now 56, of crimes including producing child sexual abuse material and federal sex trafficking charges.
Born Robert Sylvester Kelly, he was sentenced last year to 30 years in the New York case and a largely concurrent 20-year prison sentence in February in the Chicago case.
The 57-year-old was accused of using his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were just children, in a systematic scheme that lasted decades.
The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling songwriter was also accused of using his entourage of managers and assistants to meet girls and discourage them from speaking out, an operation that prosecutors said amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Lawyers for R. Kelly are appealing his conviction.
The hip-hop mogul was arrested in New York on September 16 and accused in an indictment of using his “power and prestige” to entice female victims and male sex workers into drug-fueled sexual performances called “Freak Offs.”
Prosecutors say he used violence and threats of blackmail to prevent people from speaking out. Combs, 54, faces federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which could put him in prison for at least 15 years if convicted on all counts.
A judge on Wednesday rejected the hip-hop mogul’s proposal to await his sex trafficking trial in the luxury of his Florida mansion instead of in a federal prison in Brooklyn.
Last year, a London jury acquitted the Oscar-winning actor of sexual assault charges stemming from allegations made by four men dating back 20 years.
Three men accused Spacey of aggressively grabbing their crotches and described him as a “despicable” and “slippery, cunning” predator. Spacey said he was a “big flirt” who had consensual affairs with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass.”
The court victory in England came after Spacey also successfully defended himself against a 2022 New York civil lawsuit filed by “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp.
The Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star pleaded guilty in 2022 to forcibly kissing an employee at a New York nightclub in 2018 — and in return, prosecutors dropped charges against two other women who led to a possible prison sentence if the case had been brought to trial and resulted in a conviction.
Gooding also publicly apologized for the first time to two other women who accused him of similar behavior in separate encounters, calling himself a “celebrity figure” who meant no harm. His admissions were part of a plea deal reached nearly three years after Gooding’s arrest.
Gooding told the judge that he “kissed the waitress on her lips without consent.”
The star of ‘That ’70s Show’ is serving a prison sentence of 30 years to life for raping two women.
After an initial jury failed to reach a verdict on three rape charges in December 2022 and a mistrial was declared, prosecutors retried Masterson on all three charges.
During his second trial, a jury found Masterson guilty of two of the three rapes on May 31. Both attacks took place at Masterson’s Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame.
They were unable to rule on the third charge, an allegation that Masterson also raped an old girlfriend.
Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his fame in the Church of Scientology — which all three women were also members of at the time — to avoid repercussions decades after the attacks, and the women blamed the church for their hesitation to go to police about Masterson.
