Scrubs writer-producer Eric Weinberg has been ordered to stand trial on more than two dozen counts of sexual crimes. Per Variety, Judge Charlaine Olmedo ruled on Tuesday that there is enough evidence to bring 28 charges – including rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by force, and sexual battery – to trial. That covers allegations from eight people from 2014 to 2019. Weinberg, who also worked on shows such as Californication and Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect, reportedly faces multiple life sentences if convicted. Olmedo denied a bail request, finding that he could pose a risk to the public.
Weinberg has been in jail since October 2022. Per Deadline, the LAPD and LA County District Attorney’s office said that since Weinberg’s arrest in July 2022, they have received more than 70 tips from women who allege that he raped them after they came to his house under false pretenses. Weinberg allegedly often used the guise of doing a photo shoot that seemed like a legitimate modeling opportunity. (At a preliminary hearing in April and May that included nine testimonies, one woman recalled receiving calls from six or seven models who vouched for Weinberg. Another claimed that after Weinberg sexually assaulted her, she felt like she had to record a voicemail giving him a positive review in order to leave his house.)
This case has been years in the making. A Hollywood Reporter piece detailed how multiple women connected over claims against Weinberg in a private Facebook group in 2020. Hilary Bidwell, Weinberg’s ex-wife who was going through a divorce from him at the time, saw the post and later hired a private investigator to find others with allegations. Weinberg is now scheduled for arraignment on June 4. A trial date has yet to be announced.
- [Variety]
- [Deadline]
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Jennifer Zhan , 2024-05-22 07:45:39
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