MPAA General Counsel Fired After Being Accused of Sexual Assault and Blackmail

Steven Fabrizio, general counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America, was fired on Monday after being arrested in Washington, D.C. following accusations of sexual assault and blackmail.

“This is to inform you that Steve Fabrizio’s employment with the MPAA has ended for violating certain terms of employment,” MPAA chairman-CEO Charles Rivkin told organization’s board in an email Monday morning. “I’ve asked Daniel Robbins to be interim general counsel as we embark on a search for a permanent replacement.”

“These charges, if true, are both shocking and intolerable to the Association,” an MPAA spokesperson said in a statement provided to TheWrap. “We had no prior knowledge of this behavior before these charges were publicly filed.”

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Fabrizio, who had worked for the MPAA since 2013, was arrested Friday night and charged on Saturday with secondary sexual abuse and blackmail, according to Variety.

And THR reported that, according to a police report, Fabrizio met the woman who accused him through a dating app.

Representatives for D.C. police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Fabrizio also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Breitbart first reported the story.