Former NY attorney general will not face abuse charges
NEW YORK — The special prosecutor investigating former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday that she couldn’t bring criminal charges over allegations he physically abused women he dated, in part, because current state law doesn’t explicitly outlaw such behavior.
In closing the six-month investigation, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas implored lawmakers to pass legislation to criminalize slapping, shoving and other violence committed for sexual gratification.
Singas, who was appointed to conduct the investigation by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in May, said investigators conducted an “exhaustive review” and that she personally interviewed each woman who had accused Schneiderman of assault. Investigators also spoke with members of Schneiderman’s security detail and people who worked for him in the attorney general’s office, she said.
“I believe the women who shared their experiences with our investigation team, however legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution,” Singas said in a statement announcing her decision.
She said she found no misconduct by attorney general’s office staff.
Schneiderman, 63, said he recognizes that Singas’ decision “does not mean I have done nothing wrong.”
“I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them,” Schneiderman said through a publicist. “After spending time in a rehab facility, I am committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed. I apologize for any and all pain that I have caused, and I apologize to the people of the State of New York for disappointing them after they put their trust in me.”
Schneiderman, a Democrat, announced his resignation in May, hours after The New Yorker published an expose saying that four women had accused him of slapping or choking them.
Some of the women said Schneiderman was a heavy drinker.
Schneiderman at the time didn’t deny the allegations, but implied in an initial statement his conduct was either welcomed or was not as the women described.
Charges can’t be brought if the offender’s intent is sexual arousal or gratification, unless the victim proves the violence caused substantial pain or injuries that go beyond bumps, bruises and cuts.
Singas’ proposal calls for classifying sexually motivated violence as a misdemeanor, which would carry punishment of up to one year in jail, along with a two-year statute of limitations.