Former “Scrubs” executive producer Eric Weinberg pleaded not guilty to 18 counts including multiple rape charges on Tuesday and was taken into custody after being denied bail, according to reports.
Weinberg, who was also a writer on the hit 2000s show, had previously been out on $5 million bail until Tuesday’s arraignment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He is now being held at the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles until his next hearing on Nov. 5, Deadline reported. If convicted of the charges, the 62-year-old could face more than 100 years in prison.
Weinberg was arrested earlier this month after being accused of sexually assaulting five women he lured to his home under the pretense of conducting photo shoots between 2014 and 2019.
“He is a danger to society,” Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez said at Tuesday’s hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Deadline. “He goes up to any young woman and uses his status as a writer-producer to lure them in. … He is a danger to all females.”
Judge Virginia Wilson agreed with Martinez, saying “the defendant has engaged in a pattern of violence towards women for over six years” as Weinberg slumped in his seat, according to Deadline.
Weinberg was charged with six counts of sexual penetration by use of force, four counts of oral copulation, three counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and three related charges of assault, attempted penetration and violent false imprisonment.
Defense attorney Philip Cohen, who represented “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson in court earlier Tuesday, according to Deadline, argued against the prosecution’s no-bail motion. He said Weinberg wasn’t a flight risk and should thus remain under house arrest rather than in jail.
Wilson disagreed, however, and said her concern was “first and foremost, the protection of the public,” according to Deadline, which noted the judge called Weinberg a potential “serial rapist.” She said sending Weinberg home wasn’t prudent, as the “offenses occurred in the safety and privacy of his home,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Martinez said police received around 70 tips about Weinberg since he was first accused in July and is still interviewing more accusers. The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed more than two dozen women who detailed allegations against Weinberg, including that he allegedly targeted minors.
He was first arrested in 2014 after then-22-year-old Kayra Raecke told the LAPD Weinberg raped her during a photo shoot in his Los Feliz home, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Tuesday report. Despite a police report describing how he “began choking Kayra and taking photos,” the DA’s office declined to prosecute, the outlet said.
Weinberg’s accusers claim he used his Hollywood standing to gain their trust and make promises before ordering them to get naked during shoots. Raecke realized she wasn’t the only one after spotting a Facebook post about Weinberg by artist Claire Wilson in 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Justice was served today,” Micha Star Liberty, an attorney representing the victims, told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. “It’s very satisfying that the judge found enough factual allegations to declare Mr. Weinberg a serial rapist.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
