'Scrubs' Producer Eric Weinberg To Stand Trial On 28 Charges Of Rape And Sexual Assault
“Scrubs” producer Eric Weinberg was ordered Tuesday by a Los Angeles judge to stand trial on 28 charges from women he allegedly abused between 2014 and 2019, per multiple media outlets.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo made the decision after several days of preliminary hearings at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to Deadline. While a trial date has yet to be determined, the arraignment is set for June 4.
Weinberg was first arrested in July 2022 on suspicion of “several sexual assaults, including rape,” between 2012 and 2019. He was later released on a $3.2 million bail bond, which was then raised to $5 million and revoked, spurring his rearrest in October 2022.
The veteran writer-producer has been incarcerated at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles since Oct. 25, 2022, and faces multiple life sentences if found guilty.
Two dozen-plus claims against him were described in detail for Judge Olmedo from nine women’s testimonies during preliminary hearings for Weinberg’s upcoming trial.
“I thought maybe he would attack me, or rape me, or worst-case scenario: death… No one knew where I was,” one of the women testified, according to Variety. “So if something had happened there would be no trace of me.”
Weinberg, who also wrote on “Californication” and Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect,” allegedly lured women to his home under the guise of fostering their modeling careers, only to strip them down, choke them or grope himself during those photo shoots.
“I was afraid he was going to kill me,” one woman reportedly testified at the hearings.
The 63-year-old faces multiple counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by force and sexual battery, according to Rolling Stone. Olmedo dismissed four of the counts Tuesday on the basis of insufficient evidence or expired statutes of limitation.
She recently presided over the trial of “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, who was found guilty in 2023 on two counts of forcible rape and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Weinberg pleaded not guilty in October 2022. The Los Angeles Police Department and LA County District Attorney’s Office have since reportedly received more than 70 tips from women alleging he raped them after being lured to his home under false pretenses.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
