Los Angeles County district attorney Jackie Lacey has declined to file sexual assault charges against actors Kevin Spacey, Steven Seagal and Anthony Anderson after they were accused of misconduct by various parties.
Multiple local police agencies undertook investigations of the three actors following the accusations. Anderson’s alleged victim refused to co-operate with investigators, said the Office of the DA, so the charges were not pursued.
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“The reporting party has declined to be interviewed by the investigating officer,” wrote a prosecutor with the DA’s office. “The interview is a necessary piece of the investigation. Prosecution is declined due to lack of sufficient evidence to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the allegations.”
As for Spacey and Seagal, the statute of limitations has long expired; in California, the statute ranges from one to 10 years.
Spacey was investigated for committing forcible sodomy in October 1992, more than 20 years ago.
Seagal allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 1993 — again, more than two decades in the past.
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Both Spacey and Seagal are facing one more potential sexual assault case each in Los Angeles.
The cases were reviewed by a task force established to evaluate sex abuse allegations in the entertainment industry in the wake of dozens of women accusing disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein and others of abuse. The majority of sexual assault cases and accusations arising out of the #MeToo movement, thus far, have been dismissed due to the length of time between the purported crimes and the reporting of them.
Spacey and Seagal’s representatives have not commented publicly on the lack of charges.
— With a file from The Associated Press
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