LOS ANGELES – A television writer/producer accused of sexual assault by multiple women who claim he lured them to his Los Feliz home for photo shoots was free on bail Wednesday following his arrest on an assortment of sex charges.
Eric Weinberg — whose credits include “Scrubs,” “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” “Californication” and “American Dad” — was arrested Tuesday by Los Angeles police, according to jail records.
Weinberg, 62, was booked and had his bail set at $5 million, and he was freed on bond late Tuesday night.
According to court records, Weinberg was charged Sept. 28 with 18 criminal counts, including rape, sexual battery, assault, oral copulation, false imprisonment and forcible penetration by a foreign object.
He is tentatively set to be arraigned Oct. 25 in downtown Los Angeles.
District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday the charges involve five alleged victims, with the alleged crimes dating back to 2014. But he said investigators believe there are “many more” victims, and he encouraged them to come forward.
“The defendant relied on his position of influence to lure young women for photo shoots, where he allegedly sexually assaulted them,” Gascón said. “We will hold anyone who commits such acts accountable, no matter what your job is, your wealth or your privilege.”
He said Weinberg is “a man who believed that he could do great harm and yet remain untouchable, and he did for many years.”
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the charges involve two alleged attacks on women in 2014 and one each in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Gascón said his office asked that Weinberg be held without bail, but a judge instead set bail at $5 million, which the well-heeled producer was able to post. He called it an example of the inequity of the cash-bail system, which the D.A. said allows the rich to avoid jail regardless of the nature of the offense.
Weinberg was initially arrested in July at his home in the 1900 block of Edgemont Street. At the time, police said he was suspected of “sexual assaults including rape” that occurred between 2012 and 2019. LAPD investigators said Weinberg “appears to have targeted women in grocery stores, coffee shops and other public places” and invited them to his home for photo shoots, where the alleged sexual assaults took place.
After that arrest, he was released on $3.2 million bail.
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Lamar said Wednesday investigators have received tips about possible crimes by Weinberg dating back as far as the 1990s.
Anyone who believes they may have victimized was urged to contact police at 323-561-3272, or by email at [email protected].
According to The Hollywood Reporter, more than two dozen women spoke to the publication describing a pattern of predatory behavior by Weinberg dating back as early as 2000. The women told the paper Weinberg would use his Hollywood credentials to lure women to his home for photo shoots, during which he would pressure them to disrobe.
Some women accused him of engaging in sexual activity without their consent — acts that he would sometimes photograph, according to THR.
