Ron Jeremy sex-crimes trial likely by February, 'friend' interrupts hearing in Los Angeles
Adult film star Ron Jeremy is expected to be tried early next year on multiple rape charges after a hearing Tuesday, during which an unidentified woman stood up and addressed the judge to complain about his "inhumane" treatment.
Jeremy's trial is likely to last four to six weeks and is expected to begin by the end of February; a next hearing was scheduled for Dec. 1, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and Jeremy's lawyer, Stuart Goldfarb.
Jeremy, 68, who's been jailed since June 2020 when he was first charged, appeared in the courtroom before Judge George Lomeli wearing a jail jumpsuit, sitting in a wheelchair, his hands cuffed, his long hair turned white, according to Rolling Stone and confirmed by Goldfarb.
Jeremy's only comment during the hearing was to answer, "Yes," when asked if he understood that his trial could start around late February.
Jeremy, whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of sexual assault, including 12 counts of rape, after a grand jury returned an indictment against him on Aug. 25.
Goldfarb said the next hearing in December will likely revolve around prosecutors' motion to call more accusers of uncharged alleged "prior bad acts" to testify in the case. Goldfarb said the actual charges against Jeremy involve 20 accusers who say he assaulted them in encounters dating back to 1996.
Tuesday's hearing was interrupted when a woman in the gallery in the mostly empty courtroom stood up and addressed the judge, complaining that it is "inhumane" for Jeremy to be in jail and accusing his lawyer of delaying hearings.
The judge asked who she was – she wouldn't say – and her connection to the case. She said Jeremy had been her friend for 10 years.
Goldfarb said the woman has done this before at a prior hearing. He said Jeremy knows the woman but the lawyer declined to identify her. The Los Angeles district attorney's office declined to comment.
"This poor woman, she attacked the district attorney, she attacked me, and last summer in court, she screamed out in court, 'Ron I love you!' She's challenged," Goldfarb told USA TODAY. "The judge is not going to allow her to do that again – she won't be allowed in court."
Goldfarb said Jeremy remains in jail because his bond has been set at $6.6 million.
Goldfarb claimed he's been fielding calls "from Canada to Florida" from Jeremy's supporters offering to help and pushing back against the prosecution's case that he's a sexual predator.
"He's been in the industry 40 years, he's been entertaining for years, he's a comedian, he's a musician, he's lectured on the First Amendment on college campus all over the country and in London, and he's appeared at hundreds of conventions," Goldfarb said. "People have befriended him over the years. We're going to do whatever we can to show that real side of him that is not being portrayed" by the prosecution.
According to grand jury testimony from his accusers, Jeremy is accused of leveraging the novelty of his celebrity to meet and often isolate women whom he raped and sexually assaulted, using the same tactics for years.
Nicknamed "The Hedgehog," Jeremy has been among the best-known and most prolific performers in the porn industry for decades, and became a recognizable pop cultural novelty through reality shows, public appearances and music videos. He has long been a magnet for seekers of autographs and selfies, which is how most of the women and girls aged 15 to 51 he is accused of assaulting first met him.
Contributing: The Associated Press, Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY
