“Scrubs” producer Eric Weinberg has to stand trial in a rape case

Eric Weinberg, a writer and producer of the television series “Scrubs,” went on trial Tuesday on 28 counts of rape and sexual assault after being accused of sexually assaulting at least five women in 2022, court records show.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo of the Los Angeles County Superior Court made the ruling after a preliminary hearing that lasted from late April to early May and at which several women testified.

According to court records, Mr. Weinberg is scheduled to be arraigned on June 4 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. A trial date had not been set as of Wednesday.

When Mr. Weinberg was first charged in October 2022, prosecutors said he lured young women to photo shoots from 2014 to 2019 and sexually abused at least five of them.

Prosecutors said that in two separate cases in 2014, Mr. Weinberg approached two women in public and told them he was a photographer. The women later visited his home, where Mr. Weinberg sexually abused them, prosecutors said.

Mr. Weinberg repeated this plan in 2017 and is also accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2018 and another in 2019, according to prosecutors.

George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said in 2022 that Mr. Weinberg relied on his “Hollywood credentials” to lure women to his home.

“Power and influence can corrupt some and hurt others, often resulting in lifelong trauma for victims,” Mr. Gascón said.

At one point, 32 charges were brought against Mr. Weinberg, including sexual assault, rape, forced oral sex, sexual penetration with force and intentional bodily harm. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Four of those charges were dismissed Tuesday on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence, court records show.

Prosecutors and a lawyer for Mr. Weinberg, Robin Sax, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Micha Liberty, a lawyer representing women in civil cases against Mr. Weinberg, said in an email on Wednesday that they “look forward to seeing justice done.”

Ms. Liberty represents several women who, she said, “courageously testified” at the preliminary hearing and “subjected themselves to the emotional trauma of being in the same room with Mr. Weinberg and being bombarded with victim-blaming questions.”

“But they all stood up and spoke the truth, and each of them will be back to speak truth to power in the criminal process,” Ms. Liberty said.

After Mr. Weinberg was arrested in July 2022 on multiple sexual assault charges, dozens of potential victims emerged and contacted authorities, prosecutors said. Mr. Weinberg has been in jail since October 2022, when a judge revoked his $5 million bail, court records show.

His arrest came as the entertainment industry grapples with the #MeToo movement, which has led many victims of sexual misconduct to speak out against industry leaders.

The Los Angeles police said in a statement announcing Mr. Weinberg’s arrest in 2022 that he attacked women in their 20s and 30s in grocery stores, coffee shops and other public areas “under the guise of being a photographer.” to be,” and that he would then sexually harass women during a photo shoot.

In addition to his work on “Scrubs,” Mr. Weinberg was a writer and producer on the TV series “Californication” and author of “Politically Incorrect,” which was hosted by Bill Maher, according to IMDb.