Porn actor Ron Jeremy charged with rape of three women

Adult film star Ron Jeremy has been charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth, Los Angeles prosecutors said Tuesday.

One of the pornographic film world's biggest names who appeared in over 1,700 hardcore movies, Jeremy has been dogged by assault claims and barred from industry events in recent years.

He was charged over four separate incidents in West Hollywood spanning back to 2014, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement.

Three of the incidents occurred in the same bar between 2017 and 2019, while an alleged 2014 rape took place at a home in the same Los Angeles neighborhood.

Jeremy's attorney told AFP the charges were a "surprise" and denied all the allegations.

"He is not a rapist," said Stuart Goldfarb.

"Ron -- over the years, because of who he is -- has essentially been a paramour to over 4,000 women. And to allege that he is a rapist is beyond... I mean, women throw themselves at him," he added.

Jeremy is the latest high-profile entertainment industry figure to be investigated for sexual abuse in Los Angeles since the #MeToo movement began in 2017. Los Angeles prosecutors earlier this year filed charges against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Jeremy's alleged victims were aged between 25 and 46. A separate 2016 case against him was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

If convicted, Jeremy, 67, faces a possible maximum sentence of 90 years to life in prison.

Jeremy -- whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt -- appeared in famous adult movies including "Deep Throat II" and "John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut."

He was handcuffed and taken into custody in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday afternoon, with his bail set at $6.6 million and arraignment postponed to Friday.

Jeremy's former manager Dante Rusciolelli told AFP on Tuesday he was dropping Jeremy as a client following the charges, adding that his company "were not given any proof of (Jeremy's) innocence at this time."

At least 20 men in the entertainment industry are reported to be part of a Los Angeles district attorney's taskforce set up in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein, who was convicted of rape in New York and sentenced to 23 years, has been separately charged with sexually assaulting three more women in Los Angeles.

Charges against "Atomic Blonde" producer David Guillod of rape, sexual assault and kidnap involving four women in California were brought in nearby Santa Barbara on Monday, in cooperation with Los Angeles officials.

Guillod pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, and was in the process of posting $1 million bail and was due to be released later in the afternoon, his lawyer Philip Cohen told AFP. — Agence France-Presse