Boardwalk Empire actor Michael Pitt arrested on sex abuse charges
American actor Michael Pitt at a special screening of Day Of The Fight in Los Angeles in 2024. Pitt was recently arrested on sexual abuse charges in New York. PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK – American actor Michael Pitt, known for his role on the HBO period series Boardwalk Empire (2010 to 2014), was arrested on sexual abuse charges in May, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office.
Pitt was arraigned on May 2 in Kings County Supreme Criminal Court on charges based on encounters from April 2020 through August 2021. He was charged with nine counts, including first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree assault and second-degree strangulation.
The 44-year-old pleaded not guilty to all charges. His next court appearance is set for June 17.
An indictment outlining the accusations against Pitt said he forcibly touched an unnamed woman and later engaged in oral sex without her consent. The indictment also said Pitt had injured her with a wooden plank and a cinder block on separate occasions.
Mr Jason Goldman, Pitt's lawyer, said on May 7 that his client had secured bail and was released from custody. Pitt does not have contact with his accuser, he said.
'Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr Pitt – an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes – can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unreliable individual,' Mr Goldman said in a statement.
He said the claims had been raised several years after the encounters were said to have taken place, when Pitt and his accuser were in a consensual relationship. 'We have already uncovered exonerating evidence, and this case will be dismissed,' he said.
A representative for the district attorney's office declined to comment.
Pitt's acting credits include several episodes of teen drama Dawson's Creek (1998 to 2003) and the movies, satirical psychological thriller Funny Games (2007) and crime thriller Reptile (2023). He played James Darmody, known as Jimmy, on the first two seasons of the 1920s-set crime drama Boardwalk Empire. His character was killed off in a shooting. NYTIMES
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