crime

Porn Actor Ron Jeremy Accused of Sexually Assaulting 13 More Victims

Ron Jeremy. Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

The sexual-abuse allegations against Ron Jeremy, one of the adult-film industry’s most recognizable faces, keep piling up. In June, the 67-year-old former porn star was arrested and charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth. On August 31, Los Angeles County prosecutors filed 20 more counts against Jeremy — full name Ron Jeremy Hyatt — stemming from sexual-violence allegations from 13 additional women, one of whom was a minor at the time of the alleged assault. So far, Jeremy has been accused of raping seven women.

In June, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced that Jeremy faced three counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible penetration by a foreign object, one count of forcible oral copulation, and one count of sexual battery for separate incidents dating back to 2014. According to prosecutors, Jeremy allegedly raped a 25-year-old woman at a West Hollywood home in May 2014. Additionally, he allegedly assaulted two women, ages 33 and 46, at different times in 2017, at the same West Hollywood bar where he allegedly raped a 30-year-old in July 2019. One of the 2017 allegations involved “an act of sexual penetration … when [Jeremy’s] victim was prevented from resisting by an intoxicating and anesthetic substance, and a controlled substance,” while the other reportedly involved a woman’s “unlawful restraint” while Jeremy and an unnamed accomplice “willfully and unlawfully touched an intimate part” of her body.

Jeremy pleaded not guilty to these charges, but according to the Los Angeles Times, his court appearance cued an influx of similar allegations. On June 26, Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said his office had received 25 new reports of Jeremy’s alleged misconduct, and by July, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office had reportedly fielded an additional 30 claims against the actor.

Now, according to the New York Times, Jeremy is charged with raping seven women and sexually assaulting 10 more. Monday’s amendment added the following charges, per Deadline: six counts of sexual battery by restraint, five counts of forcible rape, three counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of forcible penetration by a foreign object, one count of sodomy, one count of assault with intent to commit rape, one count of penetration by a foreign object on an unconscious or sleeping victim, and lewd conduct with a 15-year-old girl. That incident allegedly took place at a Santa Clarita party in 2004, while the most recent reportedly occurred on January 1 of this year, when prosecutors say Jeremy assaulted a 21-year-old woman outside of a Hollywood business.

Rumors about Jeremy’s predatory behavior on-set, at expos, and in social settings have long circulated within the adult-film industry, running the gamut from groping women — journalists, fans, and his colleagues — at conventions, to indecent exposure, to unwanted sexual contact and penetration. When Rolling Stone published an investigation into his conduct in late 2017, Jeremy unilaterally denied the claims.

“These allegations are pure lies or buyer’s remorse,” he said at the time. “I have never and would never rape anyone. All serious allegations have been investigated by police and dismissed by judges, as have most of the accusations of ‘groping.’ I have never been charged nor spent one day in court for any of this.”

Prosecutors previously recommended that Jeremy’s bail be set at $6.6 million. Factoring in the most recent charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 250 years to life in state prison. He has pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

This article has been updated.

Ron Jeremy Accused of Sexually Assaulting 13 More Victims