Scrubs Producer Faces Multiple Life Sentences in Rape Trial

A writer and producer on the hit TV show Scrubs will stand trial on 28 counts of rape, sexual battery, and other charges, a judge ruled Tuesday. Eric Weinberg was initially charged in 2022 with sexually assaulting five women he allegedly lured to photoshoots at his home between 2014 and 2019. "Dozens of potential victims" later came forward, per the New York Times. Weinberg at one point faced 32 charges. After hearing testimony from nine women during a two-week preliminary hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo dismissed four charges Tuesday while ordering Weinberg to stand trial on those remaining, per the Wrap. They include rape, sexual battery, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration by force.

The charges stem from alleged actions against eight individuals from 2014 to 2019, per Vulture. Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón said Weinberg relied on his "Hollywood credentials"—including credits on Californication, Men at Work, and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher—to convince women to visit his home, where he assaulted them beginning in 2014. He allegedly approached women online and in public, claiming to be a photographer, and had models call his victims to reassure them all was safe. Micha Liberty, a lawyer representing some women who testified at the preliminary hearing, said they "bravely" spoke of their experiences and "each of them will be there again to speak truth to power at the criminal trial," per the Times.

Four women testified that Weinberg choked them, per Variety. "I was afraid he was going to kill me," one said, per the Wrap. "I just remember thinking I was going to die," said another. Olmedo dismissed three charges due to the statute of limitations and one due to a lack of evidence. Weinberg, 63, is to be arraigned on the remaining 28 charges June 4. He faces multiple life sentences if convicted of all. First arrested in July 2022, he's been held in custody since October of that year, when another judge revoked his bail. Weinberg's lawyers sought bail Tuesday, but Olmedo refused the request, describing the alleged "predatory" behavior as a risk to the public. (More sexual assault stories.)