LOS ANGELES — The preliminary hearing for the Los Angeles trial of Ron Jeremy for multiple counts of sexual assault has been once again postponed at the request of the defense, until October 25.
Jeremy’s attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, and District Attorney Paul Thompson, had agreed in March to begin the preliminary hearing today, but Goldfarb filed a request for another continuance a few weeks ago, according to sources familiar with the case documents.
The same sources said they expect no more delays and that the lengthy preliminary hearing should begin in October.
Goldfarb has insisted for over a year that he cannot properly prepare for the preliminary hearing without having access to the names and addresses of the 23 victims and 50-plus witnesses that the DA office intends to produce.
Sexual assault cases have special discovery rules designed to protect the safety of the victims; the defense is requesting those special rules to be relaxed to identify the individuals behind the assault allegations in order to answer them.
Goldfarb filed a writ of appeal intending to obtain that information, but it was not taken up by the 2nd Circuit.
Jeremy was arrested and charged with the first batch of charges on June 22, 2020. He was arraigned and pled “not guilty” that week. His bail was set to $6.6 million and he has remained in jail since that date.
The criminal case summary now shows 35 counts. If convicted, Jeremy faces a possible maximum sentence of more than 330 years to life in state prison.
During a late-August 2020 hearing, Deputy DA Thompson of the Sex Crimes Division added 20 more charges to the original eight. During the last hearing, on October 28, 2020 the DA’s office filed seven additional sexual assault counts involving six additional victims and spanning from 1996 to 2020. The case against Jeremy was then amended to add three counts of forcible rape, two counts of forcible oral copulation and one count each of sexual battery by restraint and assault with intent to commit forcible digital penetration.
The crimes alleged against Jeremy add up to: 11 counts of forcible rape, eight counts of sexual battery by restraint, six counts of forcible oral copulation, five counts of forcible penetration by a foreign object and one count each of sodomy, assault with intent to commit rape, assault with intent to commit forcible digital penetration, penetration by a foreign object on an unconscious or sleeping victim and lewd conduct with a 15-year old girl.
The incidents now involve 23 victims.
Jeremy has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
For XBIZ’s continuous coverage of the Ron Jeremy case, click here.
