‘Scrubs’ Producer Eric Weinberg Ordered to Stand Trial on Rape, Sexual Assault Charges
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Eric Weinberg, a former producer on Scrubs and Californication, will stand trial for 28 charges of rape and sexual assault, according to multiple outlets. Following several days of preliminary hearings at Los Angeles’ Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Judge Charlaine Olmedo set an arraignment set for June 4 and confirmed Weinberg would be put on trial for the charges, which also include sexual battery and using sexual force.
Variety reports that the preliminary hearing ran for more than two weeks in late April and early May, during which nine women gave testimony. Each recounted being approached by Weinberg in public places and asked if they were interested in modeling. Some testified that after agreeing to meet him at his home, Weinberg would turn the photoshoot sexual, terrifying the women, most of whom remained anonymous for the hearing.
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One testified that she was “afraid he was going to kill me,” while another said, “I thought maybe he would attack me, or rape me, or worst-case scenario: death… No one knew where I was. So if something had happened there would be no trace of me.”
Weinberg is facing three counts of forcible rape, as well as multiple counts of forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by force, and sexual battery. Four of the counts were dismissed on Tuesday, with Olmedo confirming they were either outside the statute of limitations or there was not enough evidence to take them to trial. She ruled that there was sufficient evidence to hold a trial on the remaining 28 charges, which involve eight alleged victims from 2014 to 2019.
Weinberg was arrested in July on 18 charges of sexual assault, including rape. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victoria B. Wilson, who described Weinberg as a potential “serial rapist,” revoked his $5 million bail and placed him into custody at an Oct. 25 bail hearing. Wilson noted in her ruling that the allegations against Weinberg indicate “that he cannot stop and will not stop his sexual assaults on women; and, therefore, he poses a danger to the safety of women.”
Weinberg has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and has been in jail since 2022. Olmedo, who also oversaw Danny Masterson’s dual rape trials, denied an additional bail request on Tuesday, citing him as a public risk. A trial date has yet to be set.
In addition to the criminal charges against Weinberg, the former producer is also facing several civil lawsuits. In November of 2022, two unidentified women filed separate civil lawsuits alleging Weinberg assaulted them in 2019 and were seeking general and punitive damages.
An investigation by The Hollywood Reporter found that more than two dozen women alleged a pattern of predatory behavior by Weinberg that dated back to 2000, including claims involving minors. As far back as 2014, multiple women said they sought the help of police, but in most instances, law enforcement failed to adequately investigate the allegations.
Weinberg allegedly “targeted women in grocery stores, coffee shops and other public places.” The women were typically in their 20s or 30s. He would offer to photograph them, LAPD officials said in a statement about his arrest in July. “Once the women were in his residence, he would sexually assault them during the photo shoot,” the police said.
Weinberg co-executive produced more than 100 Scrubs episodes between 2001 and 2007. He has also produced and written for shows such as Graves, Californication, and Politically Incorrect. While at Scrubs, the show was nominated for five Emmy Awards.
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