Dawson’s Creek alum Michael Pitt was arrested on sexual abuse charges.
According to court records seen by Variety on Wednesday, the 44-year-old actor was arrested in New York City on May 2 on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in addition to counts of assault injury with a blunt object and strangulation in the second degree. The New York Post reported the charges stem from four alleged domestic incidents between April 2020 and August 2021 with his then-girlfriend at their home in Bushwick.
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Prosecutors claimed the Boardwalk Empire star forcibly fondled the victim and sexually assaulted and hit her with a wooden plank months later. In June 2021, Pitt allegedly assaulted the woman with a cinderblock. The court documents then alleged he strangled his ex-girlfriend on August 7, 2021.
TMZ reported Pitt pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He also reportedly posted the $100,000 bail and was released from custody. The actor is expected in court again on June 17. An attorney for Pitt, Jason Goldman, denied the allegations in a statement to multiple outlets, saying:
“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 unhinged individual. In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed.”
We’ll see what happens next. Reactions? Let us know in the comments.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via MEGA/WENN, Dawson’s Creek/Columbia Tristar Television]
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