Mike Bedigan, PA Los Angeles Correspondent
The co-executive producer of popular US comedy series Scrubs has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault.
Eric Weinberg (62) was denied bail by a US judge after appearing in a court in downtown Los Angeles to enter his pleas on Tuesday.
He has been charged with 18 counts of sexual assault, and pleaded not guilty to each.
Weinberg is said to have “relied on his Hollywood credentials” to lure young women to photo shoots where he allegedly assaulted them, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
The charges stem from alleged incidents involving five women at different times between 2014 and 2019.
Weinberg was charged with six counts of sexual penetration by use of force, four counts of oral copulation, three counts of forcible rape, and two counts of sexual battery by restraint.
He also faces one count each of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, attempted sexual penetration by use of force and false imprisonment by violence.
He is reported to be held in the Twin Towers jail, in LA, ahead of his next court hearing on November 15th.
According to the DA’s office, on two separate occasions in 2014, Weinberg approached two women at public locations and told them he was a photographer.
In each instance, he was in communication with the victims who eventually went to his home where he is accused of sexually assaulting them.
In 2017, the defendant allegedly used the same ruse to bring a young woman back to his house where he sexually assaulted her.
Weinberg also is accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in 2018 and 2019, the DA’s office said.
Scrubs is an American sitcom from Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence, that aired from October 2001 to March 2010.
The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching facility, and starred Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and Judy Reyes.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/, or visit Rape Crisis Help.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
