LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Porn star Ron Jeremy was declared mentally incompetent to face trial in Los Angeles on rape and other sex charges involving 21 women, City News Service reported on Tuesday.
Jeremy, 69, pleaded not guilty in August 2021 to greater than 30 counts of sexual assault, including 12 of rape, within the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. He has been in prison since his arrest in June 2020.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Harris said in a hearing that he had determined, based on reports from prosecutors and Jeremy’s defense, that the actor suffered from “incurable neurocognitive decline,” in accordance with the Associated Press.
Attorney Stuart Goldfarb, who represents Jeremy, had told the court in March 2022 that his client had been unable to acknowledge him when he visited him in a holding cell before a court hearing.
Goldfarb and a representative for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment from Reuters on Tuesday.
A hearing on whether to put Jeremy in a state hospital can be held next month, the Associated Press said.
Jeremy was amongst the most important names within the adult film industry, appearing in greater than 2,000 movies starting within the Nineteen Seventies.
In August 2020, Jeremy wrote on Twitter: “I am unable to wait to prove my innocence in court! Thanks to everyone for all of the support.”
The counts against Jeremy included 12 of forcible rape, seven of forcible oral copulation, six of sexual battery, and two of penetration while the victim was asleep or unconscious, in accordance with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The alleged offenses took place at night clubs and bars within the Los Angeles area, during a photograph shoot, and at Jeremy’s home, the District Attorney’s office said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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