In a seven-page letter citing Harvey Weinstein's age, charitable works and "destroyed" life following a flood of sexual misconduct allegations, the former Hollywood producer's defense lawyers recommended Monday that he be sentenced to five years in prison.

Five years is the lowest option available for Weinstein, who was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape by a Manhattan jury in late February.

The criminal sexual act conviction carries a sentence of five to 25 years in prison, while the sentence for third-degree rape varies from probation to four years in prison, which can be served concurrently. Prosecutors filed a sentencing memo last week but did not make a specific recommendation for Weinstein's time in prison.

In a letter to acting New York County Supreme Court Justice James Burke, Weinstein's lawyers cited statistics from the United States Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to argue that Weinstein, who will turn 68 next week, is unlikely to live through a long prison term.

"Given his age and specific medical risk factors, any additional term of imprisonment above the mandatory minimum—although the grave reality is that Mr. Weinstein may not even outlive that term—is likely to constitute a de facto life sentence," the legal team wrote. More information about Weinstein's health issues was filed under seal, they added.

The lawyers—Donna Rotunno and Damon Cheronis of Chicago and Arthur Aidala of New York's Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins—also asked Burke to consider the "collateral consequences" Weinstein has faced since The New Yorker magazine published allegations against him in October 2017.

Weinstein lost his career and his marriage and found it "almost impossible to protect his minor children" from the media coverage of their father, his lawyers explained.

"Mr. Weinstein cannot walk outside without being heckled, he has lost his means to earn a living, simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media," they wrote.

The attorneys also asked Burke not to consider the accusations made in prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon's sentencing memo, which described dozens of additional alleged bad acts by Weinstein.

Model Tarale Wulff, who testified against Weinstein at trial as a "prior bad acts" witness, said in a statement Tuesday that she hopes Burke imposes "a prison sentence that reflects what [Weinstein] has done to us."

Wulff and several other Weinstein accusers have said they plan to attend the sentencing, where Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, the women Weinstein was found guilty of assaulting, will be invited to make impact statements.

Burke ordered Weinstein to jail the day of his verdict, and after a multiday stay in a local hospital, he is currently in an infirmary unit on Rikers Island.

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