Television writer and producer Eric Weinberg has been charged with 18 counts of sexual assault by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. Weinberg was arrested again on Tuesday and later released on $5 million bail, up from his previous $3.225 million bail.
In a recent researchmore than two dozen women spoke to The Hollywood Reporter a pattern of predatory behavior and misconduct dating back decades. THR discovered allegations as early as 2000, including claims of inappropriate behavior involving minors.
Women described how Weinberg would use photography as a pretext to get closer to them, often citing his Hollywood credits to build credibility and trust. Some say Weinberg would pressure them to take off clothes during shoots. Several women also described Weinberg as having sexual activity without their consent, often photographing the acts as they took place.
Weinberg’s behavior repeatedly put him on law enforcement’s radar before his eventual arrest in July, with multiple women saying: THR that they reported Weinberg for assault and stalking. Weinberg was first arrested in 2014 after then-22-year-old Kayra Raecke told the LAPD that Weinberg raped her during a photo shoot at his home in Los Feliz.
Raecke customs THR how she had agreed to the photo shoot provided she stayed dressed. But during the shoot, Weinberg took off her clothes and attacked her, she said. A police report prepared shortly after the alleged incident describes how Weinberg “started choking Kayra with one hand and taking pictures”.
“After I said no so many times, he still kept doing what he wanted,” she said. “I didn’t know what else he was capable of, including violence. I thought there was a real possibility that I would die there.”
Raecke’s report led to an investigation and Weinberg’s arrest. In June 2014, an LAPD detective took the case to the district attorney’s office, where Deputy District Attorney Teresa de Castro declined to prosecute, citing “insufficient evidence.”
“She claimed she didn’t agree. He claimed a consensual encounter. There is no confirmation for the victim’s allegations,” de Castro wrote in a worksheet for the assessment of the allegations. She did not respond to a previous request for comment.
Again, in 2016, law enforcement officers recommended charges against Weinberg at the district attorney’s office for an alleged consensual sexual encounter with an unnamed woman that occurred in 2014, again during a photo shoot at his home. According to a charge evaluation worksheet, Weinberg “had intercourse with her as she lay on his bed” and “orally copulated” while he “photographed the encounter.”
Although the deputy district attorney in the case noted in the indictment assessment worksheet that Weinberg “had been investigated for the same conduct involving an individual victim” and labeled Weinberg’s conduct “inappropriate,” he nevertheless declined to press charges. serve because there was “no evidence”. that the accused has used violence, threats or intimidation to overcome the will of the victims.”
Raecke and dozens of others with similar stories came into contact in 2020 after seeing Facebook posts from artist Claire Wilson, whom Weinberg had met on OkCupid in December 2019.
The two met for drinks before heading back to Weinberg’s house “just to hang out and talk,” she would later tell police. There, she told police that Weinberg physically restrained her and forced her into sexual acts. While Wilson initially described the consensual meeting began in a Facebook post and court statement, she now says she understands that she was in a state of trauma and unable to consent.
Weinberg appeared as a regular presence in writers’ rooms from the late 1990s to 2016. Notably, he worked on the hit NBC show. scrubs from 2002 to 2006, with credits as co-executive producer on over 100 episodes. He held the same position for one season of Showtime’s David Duchovny vehicle Californiaas well as FXs Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen.
He received five Emmy nominations for his work on scrubs and politically incorrect with Bill Maher.
Micha Star Liberty, an Oakland attorney with Liberty Law who represents a large group of prosecutors, said: THR In a statement, “On behalf of my numerous clients, I am grateful and delighted that the Office of the Distinct Attorney has acted swiftly regarding Mr. Weinberg’s disgusting and damaging crimes that changed the lives of his victims forever.”
Liberty said she plans to sue Weinberg in civil court.
“I look forward to working for justice through our civil system to help those who need therapy and other necessary medical treatment to repair the significant damage Eric and others have done that allowed him to continue to abuse his victims,” he said. they. .
Weinberg’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. In an earlier statement, Karen Silver, Weinberg’s divorce attorney, dismissed the charges as “strategically placed criminal charges” arising out of “a heavily litigated and bitter custody dispute.”
“These claims have been previously investigated and reviewed by both law enforcement and the Los Angeles family court and the results have revealed a wealth of evidence, documentation and expert analysis that completely undermine the story now being circulated,” Silver previously told THR. “While Mr. Weinberg himself is not allowed to comment on any aspect of this lawsuit due to court orders, family law rules and in the best interests of his minor children, he will continue to cooperate through his counsel with all aspects of this investigation and, if necessary, will address these allegations in the only forum that matters – a public courtroom.”