British actor Ed Westwick will not face rape and sexual assault charges, prosecutors have said, because of insufficient evidence.
The Gossip Girl and White Gold star, 31, was accused of rape by two women, and sexual assault by a third, but prosecutors in Los Angeles said in new documents there was not enough evidence for them to pursue the allegations.
Westwick was originally accused of rape by actor Kristina Cohen in November 2017. In a detailed Facebook post, she claimed that after a dinner with her producer boyfriend and Westwick she fell asleep and woke to find him on top of her. Another women, former actor Aurélie Wynn, then came forward and along with Cohen, provided witnesses.
“Those witnesses were not able to provide information that would enable the prosecution to prove either incident beyond a reasonable doubt,” the memo read. “Prosecution on those two incidents is declined due to insufficient evidence.”
A third accuser was also mentioned in the memo but her case will also not be going forward because of her “unavailability”. Other women had alleged unwanted touching but their accusations fell outside of the statute of limitations.
Westwick has maintained his innocence. “I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman,” he said in an Instagram post after the initial accusation. “I certainly have never committed rape.”
After the story broke, Westwick was replaced in BBC’s Agatha Christie adaptation Ordeal by Innocence. In response, Westwick tweeted, then deleted: “It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and probably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude that I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct.”
