Ron Jeremy.
A judge in California on Thursday announced that an ongoing criminal case against Ron Jeremy would be suspended due to concerns about the former porn star’s mental state.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli agreed to pause the proceedings and set a date for Jeremy to undergo a complete psychiatric evaluation.
Rolling Stone reports that Jeremy failed to even make an appearance in court despite being housed in the same building.
“I was just up in the cell where he was being kept, and I tried to get his attention unsuccessfully,” Jeremy’s lawyer Stuart Goldfarb told the court at the start of the hearing. “He was unable to determine who I was and wouldn’t accommodate both myself and the bailiff to fit into the wheelchair to come down here.”
The bailiff reiterated Goldfarb’s concerns, noting that Jeremy was “incoherent” and “not obeying commands.”
Court records show that Judge Lomeli ordered Jeremy to undergo a competency evaluation on April 1 and scheduled an April 19 hearing to update the court on the results of that evaluation and the status of the case.
The court docket shows that Judge Lomeli had been scheduled to rule on a motion presented by the defense that has drawn sharp criticism from prosecutors and victim’s rights advocates.
Jeremy and his lawyer petitioned the court to have 21 trials — one for each of his alleged victims — rather than a single trial. The defense argues that hearing the testimony of so many alleged victims together would unfairly sway the jury.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office initially charged Jeremy, who was born Ron Jeremy Hyatt, in October 2020; a year later, a grand jury voted to indict Jeremy on myriad charges:
- 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;
- One count of lewd act upon a child under the age of 14 or 15;
- One count of sodomy by use of force; and
- One count of assault with intent to commit rape.
According to the district attorney’s office, Jeremy’s alleged victims ranged image from 15 to 51. Again, per prosecutors:
- In Oct. 1996, a 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by the defendant during a photo shoot in the San Fernando Valley.
- In Oct. 2000, a 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped by the defendant at a party in a nightclub.
- Sometime between 2002 and 2003, the defendant is also is accused of sexually assaulting a young woman at a strip club in the City of Industry.
- The defendant is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in June 2004.
- A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by the defendant at a home in Woodland Hills in 2008.
- Two years later, a woman went to the defendant’s home, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted.
- In Jan. 2013, Jeremy is accused of sexually assaulting a 38-year-old woman at a West Hollywood bar the defendant frequented.
Jeremy, who turned 69 last weekend, has maintained his innocence through it all and entered not guilty pleas to all charges against him.
The trial had been scheduled to start in May, but this latest setback makes that highly unlikely, especially if Jeremy is not found to be competent.
[Image via David McNew/Getty Images]
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