The co-executive producer of the hit American comedy series Scrubs has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault.
Eric Weinberg was denied bail after appearing in court in downtown Los Angeles, California.
According to US media reports, he is to be held at the Twin Towers prison in Los Angeles, pending his next court hearing scheduled for November.
Weinberg pleaded not guilty to any of the 18 sexual assault charges.
According to the Los Angeles District Attorney, the 62-year-old is accused of luring young women to photo shoots where he allegedly assaulted them, relying on his “Hollywood credentials.”
The alleged incidents involve five women at different times between 2014 and 2019.
Weinberg was not working on the hospital comedy Scrubs at the time of the alleged crimes, and the show ended in March 2010 after more than nine years on the air. He worked on the series from 2001 to 2007.
The producer is charged with six counts of forcible sexual penetration, four counts of oral intercourse, three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual restraint.
He is also charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, attempted sexual penetration by force and false imprisonment with violence.
According to prosecutors, Weinberg approached two women in public and told them he was the photographer on two separate occasions in 2014.
After allegedly speaking with each of the victims, they eventually went to his home, where he is accused of sexually assaulting him.
He then allegedly used the same tactics to take another young woman into his home and allegedly sexually assaulted her in 2017.
Weinberg is also accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in 2018 and 2019, the district attorney’s office said.
His next court appearance is scheduled for November 15.
https://news.sky.com/story/scrubs-producer-eric-weinberg-pleads-not-guilty-to-18-charges-of-sexual-assault-12730516
