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LOS ANGELES — British actor Ed Westwick won’t face charges in connection with misdemeanor sex crimes allegations made in 2014 by three separate women, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Friday, citing insufficient evidence.
An attorney for Westwick, 31, said in a statement that “the evidence demonstrated from the start that each of the allegations made by the three women would be proven untrue.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a charge evaluation document released Friday that its decision in two of the cases was the result of insufficient evidence. Witnesses were “not able to provide information that would enable prosecutors to prove either incident beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to the office.
An investigating officer also “tried numerous times” to contact the third woman who made allegations against the “Gossip Girl” star, but was unsuccessful and prosecutors said in that case prosecution was declined “due to the unavailability of the victim.”
While prosecutors did not identify any of the alleged victims in the case, two women have publicly accused Westwick of sexual misconduct.
Actress Kristina Cohen wrote a Facebook post last November saying that she and a boyfriend had gone to Westwick’s home in 2014, and during that time she woke up after a nap to find Westwick assaulting her.
Westwick responded the following day on social media to deny the allegations: “I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape.”
Following Cohen’s post, former actress Aurélie Wynn also said on Facebook that she was raped by Westwick while taking a nap in July 2014.
Neither Cohen nor Wynn immediately responded on social media Friday to the Los Angeles County prosecutors’ decision.
Blair Berk, an attorney for Westwick, said it was a “shame” that the actor had to be prejudged in public while “it took this long for Ed to be fully cleared.”
“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,” Berk added.
Amid the accusations, Westwick was dropped earlier this year from a BBC miniseries based on an Agatha Christie novel. The BBC had said in a statement that the allegations against Westwick were “serious” but that it was “not making any judgement” and later decided to replace him with another actor.
His case was handled by a special task force of veteran sex crimes prosecutors formed last fall to handle the growing tide of sexual misconduct accusations in Hollywood.
Twelve cases remain under review by the group, including five related to former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein, whose downfall last year sent shock waves through the entertainment industry, faces multiple felony sex crimes charges in New York City and has been accused by dozens of women of inappropriate behavior over the decades. He has pleaded not guilty.
Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles, and Erik Ortiz from New York.