Porn star Ron Jeremy has been charged with sexually assaulting four women on four separate occasions dating back to 2014, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announced.
Jeremy, 67, has been charged with three counts each of forcible rape and forcible penetration by a foreign object, and one count each of sexual battery and forcible oral copulation. He is set to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom this afternoon.
Jeremy, whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, is accused of sexually assaulting two women at a bar in West Hollywood in 2017, and of forcibly raping another woman at that same bar during the summer of 2019. He is also accused of forcibly raping a woman at a home in West Hollywood. If convicted on all charges, he could face 90 years to life in prison.
“Our statement is short. ‘No, means no.’ That is all I am willing to say at this point,” Marie Napoli, the attorney for one of the alleged victims, tells Rolling Stone.
In 2017, Rolling Stone reported that more than a dozen women had come forward accusing the adult film performer of sexual misconduct, including groping, inappropriate touching, nonconsensual digital penetration, and sexual assault. Most of the women accusing him were in the adult industry.
“He hides behind other women’s scarlet letters, is what he does,” former adult performer Jennifer Steele, who alleged Jeremy sexually assaulted her in the 1990s at an adult magazine photo shoot and at her apartment, told Rolling Stone. “[He] know[s] if someone’s a porn star and they say they’ve been raped, people aren’t gonna take it seriously.” In a statement to Rolling Stone, Jeremy said, “these allegations are pure lies or buyers’ remorse.”
When reached for comment, Mike Esterman, listed as Jeremy’s agent, said he wasn’t aware of the latest legal developments. “Finally,” he said. “I haven’t worked with him in years.” When asked to elaborate, he said, “I haven’t talked to him since I heard of the first allegations in 2017. It didn’t surprise me — based on a lot of people who had reached out, since your article — that the allegations would catch up with him.”
In response to a request for comment, his current manager Dante Rusciolelli said that he had dropped Jeremy as a client effective immediately. “We hope that these allegations against him are not true, but if they are, we hope that he is prosecuted,” he tells Rolling Stone.
June 23, 2020, 4:24 p.m.: This story has been updated with comment from Jeremy’s manager.
