Porn star Ron Jeremy has been officially declared incompetent to stand trial for a number of rape charges by a Los Angeles court.
Ron Jeremy, whose legal name is Ronald Hyatt, was charged with more than 30 counts of sexual assault and rape allegedly committed against a number of women, ranging from ages 15 to 51, dating back over 20 years.
Jeremy was not present for the hearing in the LA mental health court.
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Despite his absence, Judge Robert S. Harrison ruled the former adult entertainer was not competent after reviewing mental health records from July last year following an assessment from a psychologist hired by his defense team.
The judge also reviewed other reports dating back to October last year by a doctor hired by the prosecution.
"Mr. Hyatt is not competent for trial," Judge Harrison said.
"Both reports indicate Mr. Hyatt suffers from an incurable neurocognitive decline, and he would most likely not be restorable."
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The former adult film star, who had issued a plea of not guilty and denied any wrongdoing, was scheduled to appear in court in just a few weeks time.
Before his original trial date last year, the 69-year-old, who has starred in just under 2,000 adult films, was ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam.
His defense attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, notified the court that Jeremy did not recognise him and was generally 'non-responsive'.
According to an email from LA County Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson, obtained by The LA Times, mental health experts have determined that Ron Jeremy is suffering from severe dementia.
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The email added that there is no evidence of Jeremy faking his symptoms.
"As a result of the agreement of the experts, the defendant will be declared incompetent to stand trial," the email allegedly reads.
"His prognosis for improvement is not good.
"If he does not improve, we will not be able to try him for his crimes. Because criminal proceedings are suspended as long as he is incompetent, we also cannot get a guilty plea from him or discuss other measures to get justice for the victims in this case."
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Initial charges were brought against Ron Jeremy in 2020, for allegedly raping four women in West Hollywood.
But soon after, dozens more women came forward with more abuse allegations spanning back as far as the 1990s.
The former porn star's defense lawyer, Kate Hardie, told Rolling Stone that the decision to indefinitely suspend the case was the only possible outcome.
“[The prosecution’s] doctor found more in favor of incompetency. She was more thorough,” she said.
Topics: Crime, Mental Health, News
Rachel Lang