‘Boardwalk Empire' Star Michael Pitt Arrested on Sexual Abuse Charges
According to the indictment and court records obtained by Variety, Pitt was arrested and arraigned at Kings Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn on May 2 over four separate alleged incidents between April 2020 and August 2021. He was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, counts of a criminal sexual act in the first and third degree, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of attempted assault and one count of strangulation in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and according to TMZ, posted bail and was released from custody. His next court appearance is set for June 17.
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The New York Post, which first broke the news of Pitt's arrest, reported that the charges stem from an ex-girlfriend. The indictment alleges that, between April 2020 and August 2021, Pitt subjected her to sexual contact by means of forcible compulsion, engaged in oral sex with her without consent, attacked her with a four-by-four piece of wood and cinderblock and 'applied pressure on the throat or neck' causing 'stupor, loss of consciousness or other physical injury.'
Jason Goldman, an attorney for Pitt, told Variety in a statement: '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 unhinged individual. In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed.'
Pitt has had a previous run-in with the law, occurring after the alleged sexual abuse. In July 2022, he was arrested and charged with assault and petty larceny after striking another man several times and taking his phone. That September, he was hospitalized after being accused of throwing items at people from a rooftop.
The actor has most recently been working in film, starring in three projects in 2023: the thriller 'Asphalt City,' crime drama 'Reptile' and boxing film 'Day of the Fight.'
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