Ron Jeremy, star of countless skin flicks as perhaps the unlikeliest porn star icon ever, has been indicted on 34 counts of sexual crimes involving 21 women, spanning more than 20 years.
The 5-foot-6 actor, whose real name is Ron Jeremy Hyatt, was hit with 12 counts of forcible rape, seven counts of forcible oral copulation, six counts of sexual battery by restraint, four counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious or asleep person and one count each of lewd act upon a child under the age of 15, sodomy by use of force and assault with intent to commit rape, prosecutors have said.
The indictment, accuses Mr Jeremy of 12 counts of rape, including that of a 17-year-old girl in 2008 and a 15-year-old girl in 2004.
The 68-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is one of the biggest names in the adult film industry and has featured in over 1,700 films since 1979.
The most recent charge is from 1 January 2020, with a 21-year-old woman alleging she was raped and sodomised.
Mr Jeremy, remains in jail on $6.6m bail. Last June, Mr Jeremy appeared in court on charges he raped two women and sexually assaulted two others between 2014 and 2019.
At the time, his lawyer denied the charges, claiming that Mr Jeremy had been “a paramour to over 4,000 women” and that “women throw themselves at him.”
While no trial date has yet been set, Mr Jeremy is due in a Los Angeles court on 12 October for a pre-trial conference.
In a statement, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said that “far too often, survivors of sexual assault suffer in isolation“.
“We must ensure that survivors have all options available to help with recovery, including trauma-informed services for healing and support to report such crimes.”
