Director James Toback Avoids Prosecution In LA For Sex Crimes
Disgraced Hollywood writer-director James Toback is no longer under investigation for sex crimes. The L.A. District Attorney's Office has confirmed he will not be prosecuted.
Narrowly Avoiding A Prosecution
The D.A's Hollywood sex crimes task force reviewed five sexual harassment and battery cases against Toback, dated back as far as 1978. It has found that these cases fall outside the statute of limitations.Two of them were investigated by the LAPD and the rest by the Beverly Hills PD.
Three of the cases alleged that Toback had rubbed his private organ against the complainants and masturbated. One woman confessed that out of fear, she had agreed to masturbate in front of Toback at his request.
She had gone to a private home with him in 2008, ostensibly for a film screening. He then walked over to her and rubbed his groin against her leg until he ejaculated.
"The suspect ... instructed the victim to sit in the chair. The suspect knelt down in front of her, placed his hands the armrests and rubbed his penis on her bare legs until he ejaculated," the report stated.
According to the D.A's office, Toback may have committed sexual battery, but the statute of limitations, which lasts just one year, had expired.
Another case reported that a woman met Toback at the Beverly Hills Hotel and, after refusing to have sex with him, he again rubbed himself against her leg until he ejaculated. He also ejaculated while rubbing against her socked foot.
Prosecutors determined that Toback may have committed sexual battery again. However, the statute of limitations had run out since the alleged incident took place in 1993.
A third woman reported a similar incident, which allegedly took place in 2008. However, she stopped cooperating with the detectives and refused an interview with the prosecutors. The statute of limitations has likely run out here, too, but there may be a room for reconsideration if the victim would agree to an interview.
The two cases investigated by the LAPD were much older, taking place in 1978 and 1980. The first woman alleged Toback exposed himself to her after she refused to have sex with him.
The other case alleged that Toback groped the woman while trying to coerce her into having sex with him. Both cases also fall outside the statute of limitations.
Hundreds Of Reported Cases
To date, over 300 women have come forward to report Toback's behavior. Most of the incidents occurred as a result of young actresses trying to get work.
He would often meet with women under the pretext of business meetings and then ask them explicit questions about their sexual history. Toback would often ask the women to undress in front of him as well.
He has furiously denied all allegations against him, claiming he couldn't biologically have done what the women were saying.
Although the D.A.'s office cannot prosecute Toback, the reports thus far paint a disturbing picture of a pattern of alleged sexual abuse that went unchecked for years. The WGA East is even considering expelling Toback, while the DGA already kicked him out a while back for not paying his dues.
Toback's most recent screen credit was for the movie The Private Life of a Modern Woman, which was released just last year. High-profile actresses including Julianne Moore, Selma Blair, and Rachel McAdams have all spoken out against Toback.
The accusations against Toback were revealed in an explosive L.A. Times piece and surfaced in the wake of similar allegations against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
