Ron Jeremy Hearing Delayed After Alleged Mental 'Breakdown,' Sent to Mental Health Facility

03/19/2022 07:37 pm EDT

Former adult film star Ron Jeremy has seen life turn completely upside down, turning from one of the favorites of an industry with crossover potential to an infamous alleged sex criminal. As a cherry on top, the latest developments have reportedly taken a hefty toll is on his psyche. Jeremy was due to appear in court as part of his effort to have his sexual assault charges split into 21 different trials.

The former adult star, real name Ronald Hyatt, was reportedly "incoherent" when bailiffs attempted to retrieve him from his cell. A 45-minute wait and some delays led defense attorney Stuart Goldfarb to check out his client, finding that Jeremy couldn't recognize him.

"I tried to get his attention – unsuccessfully," Goldfarb informed the judge in the court. "He was unable to determine who I was." After the word from the attorney, Judge George Lomeli referred Jeremy to Hollywood Mental Health Court and ordered him transferred. The hearing was also postponed, and the judge did not rule on splitting the cases into different trials.

The findings of the mental health evaluations are to be completed by April 19 for a hearing in LA Criminal Court. The former adult film star was indicted on 34 charges, including rape and sexual assault of girls as young as 15. Some of the allegations stretch back 40 years, though Jeremy has pleaded not guilty.

The motivation for the separate trials stems from Jeremy's legal team's arguments that the number of charges and severe nature of some of the allegations, including drugging women, demand separate trials. They also say this would be a civil rights violation against Jeremy if the charges were prosecuted during one trial, originally beginning on May 2.

"The sheer fact that Mr. Hyatt will have to defend himself against 24 accusers and 25 incidents that took place over the course of nearly 40 years will necessarily mean that his defense to every charge will not be the same," Jeremy's lawyers argued, according to The Daily Mail. "Hearing that Mr. Hyatt had allegedly assaulted minor victims would make it hard for the jurors in this case to judge him fairly on the allegations that did not involve minors."

Two of the accusers are indeed minors, one who was 15 at the time and another who was 17 when she says Jeremy raped her. Jeremy's adult film career lasted from 1979 until 2018.

Disclosure: PopCulture. is owned by Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.