Ron Jeremy, adult film star, indicted on rape and other sexual assault charges
By Sarah Moon and Steve Almasy, CNN
Porn star Ron Jeremy has been indicted on more than 30 counts of sexual assault involving 21 women over the past two decades, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Jeremy, whose legal last name is Hyatt, is accused of sexually assaulting the women over a 23-year span between 1996 and 2019, according to the district attorney’s office. The victims range in age from 15 to 51.
Jeremy pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of forcible rape, seven counts of forcible oral copulation, six counts of sexual battery by restraint, four counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious or asleep person and one count each of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14 or 15, sodomy by use of force and assault with intent to commit rape, the district attorney’s office said.
“His position is the same (as) when the criminal complaint was filed,” Jeremy’s attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, said in a statement to CNN. “He is innocent of all charges.”
A grand jury returned the indictment August 19 and it was unsealed Wednesday. It comes nearly a year after Jeremy was charged with more than 30 counts of sexual assault.
Jeremy’s case was presented to a grand jury to avoid a public preliminary hearing where witnesses would have to testify in open court, similar to the case of media mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“Far too often, survivors of sexual assault suffer in isolation,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “We must ensure that survivors have all options available to help with recovery, including trauma-informed services for healing and support to report such crimes.”
According to online jail records, Jeremy remains at the Twin Towers Correction Facility in Los Angeles with a bond of $6.6 million.
Jeremy, 68, is expected to return to court October 12 for a pretrial conference.
Jeremy is considered one of the icons of the adult entertainment industry. He was the subject of the 2001 documentary “Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy.”
The-CNN-Wire
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