Over the course of one month – last November – three separate women came forward to say that Ed Westwick had raped them or sexually assaulted them. In March of this year, a fourth woman came forward to say that Westwick kept her trapped in his maze-like home, and he drugged her and raped her repeatedly. The names of Westwick’s accusers are (in order of when they told their stories) Kristina Cohen, Aurélie Wynn, Rachel Eck and Haley Camille Freedman. I believed every one of them. I still believe them. Their stories were disgustingly similar, and I feel strongly that Westwick was working with another man to set up several of these crimes. The last I heard, all of the women had given statements to the LAPD, and the police had turned the case over to the LA County DA to decide whether they would prosecute Westwick. They declined to prosecute.
Ed Westwick will not face rape charges, Us Weekly can confirm. In documents from the Los Angeles County District Attorney obtained by Us on Friday, July 27, prosecutors declined the first two charges of sexual assault made against him due to insufficient evidence in the cases
The document noted that the investigating officer was “unsuccessful in contacting” the third victim multiple times for a follow-up investigation and pre-filing interview, therefore, the prosecution was declined “due to unavailability of the victim.”
Following the news, the 31-year-old Gossip Girl alum’s attorney, Blair Berk, spoke out in a statement to Us Weekly: “The evidence demonstrated from the start that each of the allegations made by the three women would be proven untrue. It is only a shame there are those who so publicly prejudged this case and that it took this long for Ed to be fully cleared,” Beck told Us on Friday. “I hope that those who made such quick judgments not knowing anything about the abundant evidence of innocence in this case will hesitate next time before they so swiftly condemn without investigating the truth.”
Westwick’s girlfriend, Jessica Serfaty, also shared her thoughts in an Instagram post on Friday: “Very happy for this man,” the 27-year-old model wrote alongside two pics of her beau. “After everything, justice was served.”
Many believed that it would be a difficult case to prosecute just because of the delay in between the crimes being committed and the women actually going to the police. But I suspect that even if the women had gone immediately to the police and had rape kits done and been “perfect victims,” the DA would still decline to prosecute. Because that’s the world we live in. It’s awful. What kills me a little bit is that there’s certainly enough of a pattern in the victims’ stories to really do an in-depth investigation as to how the women were put on Westwick’s radar, what kind of culpability his partner (in crime) had, and whether he was actually drugging women, as I suspect he was.
Here’s a weird sidenote for this: Page Six reports that in the first memo the LA District Attorney’s office sent out about Westwick, the memo was littered with inaccuracies, almost like it was written up by some bro who half-assed it. The memo said Westwick was born in 1956, and that he was investigated for “child sexual abuse — other family member.” I bet you $10 the DA didn’t even review the case, they just declined to prosecute as a rule, because no one trusts women.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Any way to replace DAs?
Vote in your local elections.
It is so odd to have judges directly voted on to me, but yes get out and vote.
The idea that a prosecutor can decide not to prosecute when a victim is pressing charges is RIDICULOUS. Prosecutorial discretion should be seriously reviewed.
Basically bro covers for bro with ZERO consequence!
Disgusting.
let’s hope that more women come forward and pursue civil cases against him.
keep his name in the news associated with the category of “serial rapist”.
It isn’t the victim that brings charges. They can say they want to press charges, but it is the state that presses charges. The state always has discretion on what it prosecutes and what pleas it offers. The reason it is this way is because the burden is on the state to to prove guilt beyond a reason doubt. That is a high standard.
Some ADAs prefer slam dunk cases. I can’t tell you how often I see sex batt cases go nowhere when the victim is under 5 and there isn’t physical evidence. Kids that young don’t make great witnesses and the testifying can be scary and traumatizing. So every year I see a handful of cases where nothing happens to people that sexually abuse little kids because they didn’t cause physical damage.
Jesma I was waiting for someone to explain why a case might not got to court. The reasons often aren’t nefarious in the conspiracy theory of that word. Often it is about how likely the DA can meet the without a reasonable doubt bar for evidence. Thank you for bringing some reason to the discussion.
Sadly they prosecute cases they can win. Doesn’t matter if it’s a raging known pedo. If there’s a chance they won’t win, they don’t do it.
And that’s horrifying.
Basically I can say that I won’t prosecute a rapist because of sexism.
Or a police officer who killed a black man because of racism.
Or someone who beat up a gay couple because of homophobia.
They won’t get convicted so why should I bother?
The standard needs to be revisited.
My heart goes out to his victims who were incredibly brave to come forward. SMDH at the DA’s office. Disgusting but not surprising.
There is no respect for women in this world, we are commodities to be bought and sold for the pleasure and amusement of men. When a person violates our bodies we are dismissed.
There was a case here in Ireland in 2009, a young woman sexually assaulted in a small rural town after being out with friends, her attacker was found crouched over her not conscious, half naked body by the Gardai (Police force in Ireland) there was CCTV footage of her attacker carrying her, obviously passed out, behind a skip where he then assaulted her, she was covered in bruises and scratches. When it went to court 50 local people lined up in court to shake the attackers hand and offer him comfort (all this in front of his victim) the local parish priest gave a character witness statement saying that this attacker was a gentleman with not a harmful bone in his body, he was described as being “highly respectful” of women. The judge gave her attacker a 7 year sentence and even after that this priest went on national radio the next day and called it “a miscarriage of justice”.
This is how women are treated when brave enough to speak up about rape, seek justice in our society, this is how she was treated even though authorities found them mid attack and had video evidence. The next time someone harps on about a gold digger, whore or someone falsely claiming rape for fame remember this story of the brave woman who sat in that court and saw 50 grown men console her rapist.
That’s such a powerfully tragic story. Authorities know the statistics on unreported rapes yet they continue to demoralize and demean those that do come forward….
That is very similar to the Brock Turner rape case here in the US. This kid was found by two Swedish exchange students raping an unconscious young woman behind a dumpster. Despite the eyewitnesses and the fact that the victim was examined at a hospital supporting the fact that she was raped, all the media could focus on was that he was a champion swimmer. When it came time to sentencing, the judge sentenced him only to six months because “he was young and remorseful” and didn’t want this to “impact his life.” (He ended up only serving three months). The victim (she has been anonymous throughout this) read a powerful statement to her rapist which was shared by Buzzfeed. I suggest you read it in its entirety, it is long but well worth it: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra
He’s been in the news again lately because he claims he only wanted “outercourse” despite the fact the victim was found with her clothes partially off her. The whole thing is so infuriating.
After Youngstown, Twitter lit up with women making comments about decisions in that case. I thought the best comment was this piece of advice: only hang out with low-skilled men so you don’t ruin their life when they accidentally rape you.
Infuriating! 😡
As a survivor of a rape & lawyer, I usually bite my tongue & rarely comment on these articles. 1) They trigger painful memories of a time I’d love to just forget but can never. 2) Rape cases are difficult cases to prove even in the state I live in. I’d say there’s definitely the perfect victim mix throw in but that doesn’t prevent a DA from prosecuting a case. The idea of perfect victim comes in at trial & presented by the defense to attack the victim that he or she was raped.
We can only hope that his career won’t recover after this at least. He is not some A-lister anyone would feel worth risking the image of hiring/supporting. It also sounds like they just did not want to persuade the case, I mean how not being able to contact third victim is a reason for dropping the case? Are two victims not enough?
I’m afraid it’s going to be the opposite. “See? He was innocent! Falsely accused, women are evil, oh poor him!!!”.
social media comments and posts are already reflecting this. I was so grossed out when I saw his GF (I think?) post an Insta of him saying he has been vindicated and he is an innocent man bla bla bla… I wanted to vom.
This is what I don’t understand with “men” like him. He’s a heart-throb actor from gossip girl who could easily get some women to voluntarily go along with him. Why assault and rape ??
Its sick, he seems to be a psychopath. Those eyes tell a creepy story.
I guess that’s what gets him off – the coersion part of it.
If the DA refuses to try him, then it is time to shun the rapist. Lobby to keep him out of work. If he isn’t going to pay for his crimes through the legal system, he needs to suffer socially and economically.
So there were 4 victims, and only 1 of the 4 was unavailable to interview…so they drop the case? THREE OTHER WOMEN told the police what happened to them.
This is awful, I can’t imagine how the victims feel (I believe every one of them). I hope they can find some peace, that his career never recovers, and that everyone knows who he is now and stays away.
You have probably cause that this women lied about.
I believe since the #Metoo Moviment appeard the Police doesnt get play safe with this kind situation.
Its to difficult to you Americans believe that Women lied about this situation to?
So three women, at least, all telling very similar stories, lied about this? Pretty unlikely. Despite what people want to believe, there are very few false rape accusations and very few benefits for coming forward about being sexually assulted.
Wow, really? Sorry, I don’t automatically discount someone’s account of being raped. Especially when two other women have said the same thing happened to them.
There is more likelihood of someone NOT reporting a rape than falsely reporting one.
Go back to hiding under your bridge troll.
I hope his victims manage to recover from this traumatic experience with the system.
Despite the outcome, they were very brave to speak out.
Sigh. So unsurprising. We gotta start cleaning house with these corrupt DAs.
He is absolutely repulsive and predatory and I 100% believe every one of his accusers. His GF is 27 and has a nine year old son. A quick peak at her IG and she seems as vacuous and immature as could be expected. I’m judging her HARD for bringing a man like this into her and her son’s life.
I believe reason doubt.i have being this situation. Its not about DA being corrupt.
Metoo allowed to many women to speak about and being helped with this situation and being proved that too.
But talk by experience some liars and helped by lawyers.
I have seen with my own lies.
THE POLICE HAVE MANY ISSUES BUT THE LAWYERS TOO.
METOO GIVE OPTIONS TO PEOPLE BUT SOME USING FOR ADVANCES.I AM SORRY BUT I AM WOMEN BUT I HAVE SEEN THE BAD TOO.
Yeah, they’re all doing it for the money and fame, of course. Just look at the women who accused Cosby they’re all swimming in money and fame now and they weren’t insulted back and forth at all. Or all the women who accused Weinberg. Their lives are so great now with all the studios who constantly hire them. /s
@ichsi: I see your sarcasm and raise with the following:
Yeah, because it’s so easy to report rape. No one puts you through the wringer, you’re never the one really on trial. No one dissects your sexual history instead of the man who assaulted you in order to determine that you’re “worthy” of having been actually raped. /s
THIS.
****TRIGGER WARNING****
Ugh. I was assaulted by a man I thought was a friend in college, and despite going to the hospital immediately upon regaining consciousness (having been choked until I passed out while drugged on cold medicine), the local po-pos questioned me about my personal habits, what I was wearing ( I was sick in bed, and wearing Donald Duck flannel PJs, not that it mattered!), and told me “nice girls don’t let men into their homes”. The DA here, much like LA County, refused to prosecute.
Anger is what got me through the dark times. Anger, and a resolve to call out the misogyny inherent in the criminal justice system, and do what I can to make it change. Nobody, male or female, deserves or warrants assault. EVER. And until those asshats in power decide to stand up to the even bigger asshats who assault people, the anger and fight will continue.
You, delphi, are a strong woman. My personal and professional opinion: You let the anger work for you. I imagine you were told not to be angry, that it’s counter productive. That’s utter tosh. Anger is powerful. Anger can make us strong. We can use anger to work for us. We just can’t let anger consume us.
Seriously?
Who benefits from making an accusation like this? Have any of the women who have come forward been given opportunities, money, fame, anything from it? NO.
I’m sorry you think that metoo has allowed “too many women to speak”. Do you not understand that more women finally feel safe and able to speak it out such things? Do you not understand how many women face assault, harassment, abuse?
“The evidence demonstrated from the start that each of the allegations made by the three women would be proven untrue. It is only a shame there are those who so publicly prejudged this case and that it took this long for Ed to be fully cleared,” Nice try Berk, but declining to press charges and “proven untrue” or “fully cleared” are not the same thing. This is like the Woody Allen defense.
Yes! Came here to say the same thing. He’s a friggin lawyer, he knows the difference. He’s deliberately trying to bend his words so that people can latch on and make the mental leap from “allegations proven untrue” to “Oh I heard he was proven innocent” – just like woody allen.
Yup, this tactic unfortunately works and the lawyer knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they worded the statement, so for sure there’s going to be a load of “proven innocent” crap floating around.
http://da.co.la.ca.us/contact/email
Contact for the DA office.
Boo!
Also, declining to prosecute does not mean that he’s been ‘fully cleared’.
Sadly it does. He is clear. He is not under investigation. He is a free man.
No, that means they declined to prosecute, not that he was found innocent. Same as Woody Allen (despite also pretending that meant exoneration)… and any number of rich &/or influential white guys, tbh.
The last election I voted for that was for DA’s I only voted for women. Call me whatever, but women seem to be the only ones to care and understand other women. They also tend to want to treat everyone fairly male, female, black, and white. We aren’t perfect but I feel we are a lot more sensitive and understanding than men.
I can’t see his face again without thinking about these charges. ..
I used to be a huge Ed Westwick fan. I live in Los Angeles, and this is very disappointing because it means they really didn’t try hard enough, and chances are whoever this third victim was it’s likely they were threatened into silence. What’s worse is that none of it is surprising. The LAPD was notoriously corrupt for decades and it’s been implied recently that all of that was cleaned up, but it wasn’t. It’s all PR.
He wasn’t cleared. Nothing was proven in his favor so they can shove it with that excuse. It was just past the statute of limitations and the one case that wasn’t, well surprise! they can’t find that victim and get them to come in for another interview. I will never be able to see him or any project he’s a part of the same way. I hope anyone he victimized and hurt finds peace since unfortunately they will get no justice.
I’m so sorry to hear this but not surprised.
I will never watch anything he is in/touches.
To every one of you who has shared, thank you.