Scott Baio Will Not Be Charged Over Sexual Assault Allegations Made By Former Costar Nicole Eggert

Scott Baio will not be charged with sexual assault after his former Charles in Charge costar Nicole Eggert accused him in January of molesting her for years.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against the 57-year-old, citing, “The applicable statute of limitations to the crimes alleged by the victim have expired. Thus, the case is declined,” the DA noted in a charge evaluation sheet obtained by PEOPLE.

On Monday, Eggert tweeted, “Wait for it…dismissed on Statutes of Limitation…NEVER bcz of LACK OF EVIDENCE!! Case closed molester @scottbaio.”

She added in a second tweet, “Dismissed due to Statute of Limitation = GUILTY. Period.”

Baio’s spokesperson Brian Glicklich did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. However, Baio has repeatedly denied her claims, calling them “100 [percent] lies.”

“Why would I have a concern over something I didn’t do?” he said on Good Morning America. “Rather than take your case to social media, where people tend to beat up people like me, why not do it through the proper channels? You put up allegations like that, and it becomes like wildfire.”

He added that they were “never” alone together on the set.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a sitcom set, but on any given day — on every day, especially Charles in Charge, which was like a picnic every day, it was one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever done — there’s teachers, parents, family, crew, producers, my dad. So how any of this could have happened is absolutely impossible,” he said.

Nicole Eggert, Scott Baio
Nicole Eggert, Scott Baio

Eggert, 46, alleged on Twitter in late January that Baio had molested her from the ages of 14 to 17. Generally, in California, prosecution of a sexual assault offence has to begin within 10 years of the alleged incident.

During her appearance on Megyn Kelly Today in late January, Eggert said the alleged sexual abuse “happened quite often” at Baio’s house from when she was 14 to 17 in the late 1980s — more than 10 times and about once a week, she claimed.

Eggert also alleged that on the Charles in Charge set, “There was just a lot of groping, a lot of fondling, a lot of pulling me on his lap, trying to sneak kisses in the back, which a lot of cast members saw.”

“I don’t think they knew about the actual physical sexual abuse, but everybody knew the attention that he gave me,” she said.

In February, Baio was also accused by Alexander Polinsky, another one of his costars on the sitcom, of sexual harassment and abuse.

Alexander Polinsky, Scott Baio
Alexander Polinsky, Scott Baio

During a press conference that month, the former child actor — who was accompanied by attorney Lisa Bloom and Eggert — spoke about the abuse he allegedly endured at the hands of Baio when he was an adolescent.

“I was sexually harassed by Scott Baio and ultimately assaulted by him between the ages of 12 and 15 years old,” Polinsky told reporters. “Getting the job on Charles in Charge when I was 11 was one of the most wonderful things that happened to me. It represented everything good about my life and my future. My excitement did not last long.”

Nicole Eggert, Scott Baio, Josie Davis for <em>Charles in Charge</em>
Nicole Eggert, Scott Baio, Josie Davis for Charles in Charge

Polinsky added, “Scott Baio began a power of abuse that was unrelenting. Mr. Baio repeatedly told me about gay sex acts that he told me I would grow up to perform. I would protest and ask him to stop saying these things, but he said it was for my own good. Scott told me of his sexual conquests with young girls and the costars of the show at the same time tried to convince me that I was unlovable, defective and branding me with the most vulgar words for homosexuals that exist. Scott pulled down my pants in front of over a hundred people and on another time he laughed as he cut a hole in the canvas wall on my private dressing room on set and exposed his genitals to me.”

He concluded, “One of the most painful memories of my childhood was when Scott and I were backstage waiting to enter the set for a scene. I faked a basketball to him – he got startled and out of anger he assaulted me by throwing a cup of hot tea in my face I believe I was being subjected to mental torture and retaliation for what I had seen. The abuse continued through the run of the show. The adults on set were aware of these things but were too scared of losing a job in a hit show to act.”

RELATED VIDEO: Charles in Charge’s Alexander Polinsky Accuses Scott Baio of Physical Assault & Mental Abuse

Baio responded to the allegations via a statement read by Glicklich and civil attorney Jennifer McGrath.

“For reasons I don’t understand, I am the target of false claims that threaten everything that is important in my life. I am hurt and I am angry. But mostly, I am stunned that anyone could be so cruel as to attack not just me, but my entire family with lies,” Baio said in a statement read by Glicklich. “I will not let this continue unchallenged and will use every ounce of strength and faith in God that I have to defeat the people behind this. This story is just beginning to be told.”

Baio was not in attendance due to a prior obligation at his daughter’s school.

McGrath said, “While we would have preferred to present this and other evidence privately to authorities, Eggert and Polinsky’s continual hunger for publicity compels us to advise that we also have multiple statements from witnesses that will not only completely discredit Eggert’s claims but paint them in an entirely different light.”

She added, “When the police investigation concludes, and Scott is totally cleared of any wrongdoing, he will pursue any and all legal options as to anyone who knowingly made false statements against him.”