After being accused of sexual assault by four separate women for alleged incidents that occurred in 2014, Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick is now under investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
A report from People confirms that prosecutors are reviewing at least one of the allegations against Westwick, 30.
The outlet quotes a spokesman for the Prosecutor, Greg Risling, as saying that their office was presented with a case by the LAPD on March 20, with it currently “under review.” Standard procedure dictates that police investigation accusations before turning their findings over to the D.A, who will then determine whether to bring charges upon the accused.
In November last year, actress Kristina Cohen claimed Westwick had raped her at his Los Angeles home in 2014, which prompted Aurélie Wynn and Rachel Eck to come forward with their own claims of rape and sexual assault, also occurring in 2014.
Then earlier this month, stylist Haley Camille Freedman alleged that she was raped by Westwick in a lawsuit filed against her former business partners, who she says cut her off following the incident.
While it hasn’t been made public which case is under review, it was confirmed last year that police were investigating the allegations brought by Cohen.
The actor categorically denied the accusations on social media, posting on Twitter:
It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and probably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude that I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct. I have absolutely not, and I am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible.
However, as of Sunday the post had been deleted, with a source telling Us Weekly that “it has come to the attention of investigators that Mr. Westwick has removed denials about alleged rapes of the victims in this investigation from his social media accounts that he had posted last November”.
The source adds that Westwick has hired a “high-profile attorney” to represent him, and surmises that deleting the posts was legal advice from his counsel.
We’ll keep you updated on this as it develops.
