Ed Westwick won't face rape charges due to lack of evidence

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Press Trust of India Los Angeles
Last Updated : Jul 28 2018 | 1:35 PM IST

No rape charges will be filed against actor Ed Westwick due to insufficient evidence, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Westwick, best known for his role on "Gossip Girl," was accused in November of raping two women and sexually assaulting a third in 2014.

Actor Kristina Cohen made the first allegation in a post on Facebook, writing that Westwick held her down and raped her at his home in West LA. Two more women came forward with their own accounts, actress Aurelie Wynn and Rachel Eck.

In a memo obtained by Variety, prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to pursue charges.

According to the memo, two of the women provided witnesses to help corroborate their accounts, including some who were outside the room where the alleged incident took place.

"Those witnesses were not able to provide information that would enable the prosecution to prove either incident beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecution on those two incidents is declined due to insufficient evidence," prosecutors wrote.

The third women, who is not identified in the memo, did not respond to inquiries from the District Attorney's office. The office declined to file charges in that case due to the victim's unavailability.

The memo also states that some additional women made allegations of inappropriate touching, but that the incidents fell outside the statute of limitations.

Westwick has denied all the allegations against him.

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First Published: Jul 28 2018 | 1:35 PM IST

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