Armie Hammer will not face sexual assault charges following a lengthy investigation into 2021 rape allegations, the Los Angeles County DA’s office has announced.
In 2021, Los Angeles police began a “thorough review” into claims made by a woman, identified as Effie, accusing the actor of raping and abusing her in 2017.
Hammer has maintained his innocence throughout, vehemently denying the allegations.
After a years-long probe into the accusations, on Wednesday (31 May), the DA’s office said it could not prove rape allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt” due to the “complexity of the relationship” between Hammer and his accuser.
“Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prove, which is why we assign our most experienced prosecutors to review them,” Tiffiny Blacknell, Director of the Bureau of Communications, said in a statement. “In this case, those prosecutors conducted an extremely thorough review, but determined that at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Hammer with a crime.”
“As prosecutors, we have an ethical responsibility to only charge cases that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ms Blacknell added.
“We know that it is hard for women to report sexual assault. Even when we cannot move forward with a prosecution, our victim service representatives will be available to those who seek our victim support services. Due to the complexity of the relationship and inability to prove a non-consensual, forcible sexual encounter we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hammer welcomed the decision by prosecutors in a statement of his own.
“I am very grateful to the District Attorney for conducting a thorough investigation and coming to the conclusion that I have stood by this entire time, that no crime was committed. I look forward to beginning what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared,” he said.
In her formal 2021 statement, Effie alleged that she and Hammer met on Facebook in 2016, when she was 20 years old.
“I fell in love with him instantly. The relationship progressed rapidly and the emotions from both sides became really intense,” she said of their four-year-long, on-and-off relationship.
She alleged that on 24 April, 2017, in Los Angeles, Hammer raped her for four hours, slammed her head against a wall and committed other violent acts against her, according to The Associated Press.
“During those four hours I tried to get away but he wouldn’t let me,” she said through tears. “I thought that he was going to kill me. He then left with no concern for my well-being.”
The Call Me By Your Name actor first became embroiled in controversy in January 2021, after alleged direct messages surfaced that alluded to misconduct on the actor’s part. Some of the actor’s messages, which appeared flirtatious, even mentioned cannibalism.
As the scandal intensified, he stepped down from future film roles, and a month later he was dropped by his talent agency amid the scandal. He hasn’t worked in Hollywood since.
