American actor Michael Pitt, best known for his TV roles on Boardwalk Empire and Dawson's Creek, as well as films like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Funny Games, has been arrested in New York City on charges of sexual abuse.
Pitt is accused of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend, choking her, and attacking her with a cinder block and a piece of lumber at his New York City home, according to a grand jury indictment.
Pitt, 44, whose lawyers denied the allegations, was arrested on nine counts, including first-degree sexual abuse, criminal sexual acts, assault, attempted assault and strangulation. The indictment cites four incidents between April 2020 and August 2021 at Pitt's home in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.
Pitt's lawyer, Jason Goldman, said he already had exonerating evidence and expected the case to be dismissed.
“Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt — an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes — can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unreliable individual,” said Goldman.
He added: “In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, from a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual relationship.”
Pitt pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted $100,000 bail. He is due back in court in Brooklyn on 17 June.
Pitt, who grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, played the character Jimmy Darmody for two seasons on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, with the cast led by Steve Buscemi winning Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2011 and 2012 for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. The show also won a Golden Globe for best drama series in 2011.
His first major role came in the 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In 2005, he starred in Last Days, director Gus Van Sant's film about a fictional rock star inspired by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
The actor was most recently seen in the thriller Asphalt City, the crime drama Reptile and the boxing film Day of the Fight.
