‘Gossip’ guy won’t face rape raps
Actor Ed Westwick will not face sexual assault charges in Los Angeles, prosecutors said Friday.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it found “insufficient evidence” to prosecute the “Gossip Girl” star after three women stepped forward with claims he sexually assaulted them in separate incidents in 2014.
In a charge evaluation worksheet released Friday, prosecutors said one of the women provided so-called “fresh complaint witnesses” who purportedly could testify she spoke about the alleged attack shortly after it happened.
A different accuser identified two people who were at the location but outside the room where her alleged attack took place, prosecutors said.
“Those witnesses were not able to provide information that would enable the prosecution to prove either incident beyond a reasonable doubt,” the memo said. “Prosecution on those two incidents is declined due to insufficient evidence.”
Attempts to reach the third accuser for a follow-up interview were not successful, prosecutors said.
“Prosecution is declined on this incident due to unavailability of the victim,” the memo said.
“Other women made allegations of unwanted touching. Those acts were outside of the statute of limitations,” the worksheet said.
Westwick’s lawyer said the DA’s decision amounted to an exoneration of her client.
“The evidence demonstrated from the start that each of the allegations made by the three women would be proven untrue,” lawyer Blair Berk said in a statement.
She called it a “shame” that “it took this long for Ed to be fully cleared.”
Westwick, 31, previously denied any inappropriate behavior in social media posts that he later deleted.
Last November, accuser Kristina Cohen claimed Westwick penetrated her with his fingers and raped her three years earlier.
Westwick responded with his own post claiming he didn’t know Cohen and had never “forced” himself on any woman.
“I certainly have never committed rape,” he said.
Accuser Aurélie Wynn claimed the actor raped her in July 2014. Rachel Eck claimed he repeatedly tried to kiss and grope her the night before the Oscars in March 2014.
Hollywood stylist Haley Camille Freedman, 23, visited LAPD’s Hollywood station and filed a report earlier this year claiming an attack by Westwick, sources confirmed to The News.