Film Producer David Guillod Wins Dismissal of Rape Charges

Gene Maddaus
·3 min read
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A judge in Santa Maria, Calif., on Tuesday dismissed a rape case against film producer David Guillod, weeks after another judge threw out most of the charges against him.

Guillod was accused of raping or sexually assaulting six women, including actress Jessica Barth. But after a 10-day preliminary hearing in May, Judge James K. Voysey found that the accusations of four of the women were not credible enough to go to trial.

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Voysey took note of text messages in which one alleged victim said, after the alleged rape, that she was looking forward to “dinner and some cuddles” with Guillod. Another alleged victim, Guillod’s assistant, was seen flirting with him and cuddling with him the day after the alleged rape.

“Those behaviors tell the court she didn’t think she was raped the night before,” Voysey said at the hearing on May 23. “She would never have done those things. They are totally inconsistent with the charges of rape.”

The judge did find enough evidence to go to trial on the allegations of the other two accusers, including Barth. Guillod was accused of sexually assaulting Barth while she was intoxicated in 2012. Guillod’s attorneys denied those claims and challenged her credibility, but the judge found that her statements had been consistent enough to proceed to trial. The judge also approved charges involving Jane Doe 5, who claimed that Guillod had taken her home and raped her while she was intoxicated.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office handled the prosecution, even though only one of the six incidents took place in that county. The remainder took place in Los Angeles County, but L.A. prosecutors agreed to let Santa Barbara County take the lead.

Voysey dismissed the counts involving the Santa Barbara County accuser, leaving the prosecutor’s office without jurisdiction to pursue the remaining charges.

“As a result, the criminal case in Santa Barbara County will not be moving forward,” said Jennifer Karapetian, the Santa Barbara prosecutor, in an email. “The cases have been referred over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for review and consideration of filing of criminal charges.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a question about whether it would pursue the case.

Philip K. Cohen, Guillod’s attorney, said in a statement Tuesday that it was “a great relief to finally put an end to this criminal case.” He noted that the defense had made a strategic decision to present most of its evidence at the preliminary hearing, rather than hold it for trial, and he thanked Voysey for not rubber-stamping the prosecution’s allegations.

“At the same time, nothing I have done or ever could do in this case will erase the irreparable damage that David has sustained to his career, his family and his future,” Cohen said. “Living for years under the pall of criminal allegations – and under the public’s ever-present presumption of guilt – is difficult to recover from regardless of the ultimate outcome.”

Guillod resigned as co-CEO of Primary Wave Entertainment, his literary and talent agency, in November 2017, after Barth went public with her allegations to The Wrap.

Guillod was an executive producer of “Atomic Blonde,” “Extraction” and “The Intruder.”

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