Over four months after the Los Angeles County District Attorney confirmed that it was investigating Ed Westwick for multiple allegations of sexual assault, Jackie Lacey’s office today said that the Gossip Girl alum will not be charged.
“Three separate women recently reported to law enforcement that suspect sexually assaulted them at three different times in 2014,” stated the D.A.’s office in a July 17 charge evaluation worksheet made public Friday. “Victim 1 alleged an assault and identified potential fresh complaint witnesses, the paperwork explained. Victim 2 alleged an assault and said two people were present at the location but outside of the room where the assault occurred. Those witnesses were not able to provide information that would enable the prosecution to prove either incident beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecution on those two incidents is declined due to insufficient evidence.”
“The investigating officer tried numerous times but was unsuccessful in contacting Victim 3 for a follow-up investigation and a pre-filing interview,” the worksheet added. “Prosecution is declined on this incident due to unavailability of the victim. Other women made allegations of unwanted touching. Those acts were outside of the statute of limitations”
Of course, not that the end of week release from the District Attorney’s office didn’t have an element of the Keystone Kops to it – if it wasn’t riddled with significant errors initially. In a clearly very very serious matter, earlier paperwork from Lacey’s team had the 31-year old actor’s date of birth listed in the 1950s. The over a week old worksheet also had an incorrect citation code that labeled Westwick with an additionally potentially damning charge. Contacted by Deadline about this, the L.A. D.A. Media Relations Unit said they would be sending out a correction “when they had time.” It took almost an hour for the corrected version to be distributed.
Soon after actress Kristina Cohen went public in late 2017 with the claims of rape against Westwick, the BBC dropped the Wicked City actor from its Ordeal by Innocence drama and halted his appearance in White Gold. In quick succession more claims were leveled against Westwick, who denied them in since-removed social media posts.
However, Westwick’s lawyer was anything but quiet today after the correct version of the L.A. D.A. paperwork was released.
“The evidence demonstrated from the start that each of the allegations made by the three women would be proven untrue,” Hollywood heavyweight criminal attorney Blair Berk told Deadline. “It is a shame there are those who so publicly prejudged this case and that it took this long for Ed to be fully cleared,” the also once Harvey Weinstein representing lawyer continued. “I hope that those who made such quick judgment here not knowing anything about the abundant evidence of innocence in this case will hesitate next time before they so swiftly condemn before investigating the truth.”
While Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr’s office indicted the much accused and now potentially life behind bars facing Weinstein on multiple sex crime charges this spring after an investigation by the NYPD, Lacey’s office has yet to make a public move pro or con on the disgraced producer. Months ago, both the LAPD and the Beverly Hills Police provided what has been described as “detailed” information to the L.A. Country D.A.’s office on numerous sexual assault claims against Weinstein here on the West Coast.
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