The Los Angeles Police Department says it is swamped with the sheer volume of ever-growing sexual harassment and assault allegations and complaints against powerful men in the entertainment industry.
“It’s an international phenomenon,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) when asked about investigations into mogul Harvey Weinstein and others. “These ladies were sexually assaulted, harassed, and they acquired psychological damage, so we have to move very cautiously with anyone who comes in — and that’s what we’re doing.”
Police in London, Los Angeles and New York are reportedly working to untangle a web of allegations stemming from revelations against media mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Los Angeles police reportedly have “27 open investigations into entertainment figures, including actor Ed Westwick and agent Tyler Grasham, in addition to Weinstein,” SCPR notes. “The LAPD has also taken more than 30 other reports of sexual misconduct that occurred in other parts of the U.S. and overseas and referred those cases to other law enforcement agencies,” the publication noted.
While some of the cases have been closed due to the expiration of a statute of limitations, open criminal investigations in Los Angeles include allegations by an Italian actress and model who alleged Weinstein raped her in 2013 and that he committed lewd acts two years later.
Last week, fashion mogul, music, and TV super-producer Russell Simmons removed himself from all of his companies after screenwriter Jenny Lumet claimed that he forced her to have sex with her in 1991. HBO also announced that it was removing Simmons’ name and presence from the upcoming stand-up series, All Def Comedy.
Film Director Brett Ratner was allegedly involved in the 1991 incident, which allegedly took place at Simmons’s New York City apartment.
Matt Lauer, co-anchor of NBC News’s Today Show, was also recently fired after several women went public with his inappropriate behavior. Lauer had reportedly turned his 30 Rockefeller Center office into a secret sex lair, complete with a button under his desk that automatically locked his door so he could trap his victims inside.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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