CBS CEO Les Moonves, who was the subject late last week of a report that he’d been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, won’t face charges stemming from the accusations of a woman who said that Moonves sexually abused her.
According to paperwork from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors declined to press charges due to the statute of limitations.
The woman accused Moonves of sexually abusing her on three occasions in the 1980s.
Ronan Farrow, who authored the New Yorker report in which six women accused Moonves of misconduct, tweeted Tuesday that the accuser involved is not one of those from his report.
“Note that these appear to stem from allegations not included in our story, from a different, additional woman,” Farrow tweeted. “(Prosecutors concluded her claims were outside of the statute of limitations.)”
According to paperwork from the D.A.’s office, the anonymous accuser said Moonves sexually abused her on July 1, 1986. The paperwork also noted two separate incidents dated January 1, 1988.
The paperwork notes that the accuser said she “encountered suspect through employment in the television industry.Victim has reported multiple incidents of assault by suspect.”
Moonves was accused of forcibly touching and kissing women during business meetings in a New Yorker piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow late last week.
In Farrow’s New Yorker story, six women accused Moonves of sexual harassment, with four of them accusing the CEO of forcibly touching or kissing them during business meetings, and two saying he physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers. All of the women, including actress and writer Illeana Douglas, told Farrow that they feared retaliation if they spoke out.
“I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely,” Moonves said in a statement. “But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career.”
Hours before the New Yorker published its report online, the network said it was opening an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct, though who was being investigated was not mentioned.
On Monday, CBS announced that Moonves will remain as CEO of CBS Corporation while accusations of sexual misconduct against the Hollywood kingpin are investigated by outside council.
“CBS Corporation announced today that its Board of Directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting,” said the company in a statement.