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Schneiderman Will Not Face Criminal Charges in Abuse Complaints Schneiderman Will Not Face Criminal Charges in Abuse Complaints
(about 1 hour later)
After a six-month investigation, prosecutors said Thursday that they would not pursue criminal charges against Eric T. Schneiderman, the former New York State attorney general who resigned in May after four women accused him of assaulting them.After a six-month investigation, prosecutors said Thursday that they would not pursue criminal charges against Eric T. Schneiderman, the former New York State attorney general who resigned in May after four women accused him of assaulting them.
The decision not to file charges was announced in a statement issued by Madeline Singas, the Nassau County district attorney, who was asked by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate the case shortly after Mr. Schneiderman left his post.The decision not to file charges was announced in a statement issued by Madeline Singas, the Nassau County district attorney, who was asked by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate the case shortly after Mr. Schneiderman left his post.
Ms. Singas said the women who accused Mr. Schneiderman of abuse were credible, but there were legal hurdles to bringing charges. She did not elaborate on those obstacles, except to say some of the accusations were too old to pursue under state law. Ms. Singas said the women who accused Mr. Schneiderman of abuse were credible, but there were legal hurdles to bringing charges. She did not elaborate on those obstacles, except to say that some of the accusations were too old to pursue under state law.
“I believe the women who shared their experiences with our investigation team,” Ms. Singas wrote, “however legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution.”“I believe the women who shared their experiences with our investigation team,” Ms. Singas wrote, “however legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution.”
Ms. Singas added that she had proposed a new state law that would protect victims of sexually-motivated violence by making it illegal to hit, shove, slap or kick someone without their consent for “the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification.” Ms. Singas also noted that she had proposed a new state law that would protect victims of sexually-motivated violence by making it illegal to hit, shove, slap or kick someone without their consent for “the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification.” She added that her inquiry had “found no misconduct” by the staff of the attorney general’s office.
Mr. Schneiderman’s sudden resignation, which took place within hours after the accusations were published in The New Yorker, was a stunning fall for a politician who had not only risen to prominence as an antagonist of the Trump administration, but who had also played a forceful role in the #MeToo movement. Mr. Schneiderman’s sudden resignation, which took place only hours after the accusations against him were published in The New Yorker, was a stunning fall for a politician who had not only risen to prominence as an antagonist of the Trump administration, but who had also played a forceful personal role in the #MeToo movement.
The women, who had been romantically involved with Mr. Schneiderman, accused him of choking, hitting and slapping them, sometimes during sex. All of them said the violence was not consensual. The women, who had been romantically involved with him, accused him of choking, hitting and slapping them, sometimes during sex and often after drinking. All of them said the violence was not consensual.
In his own statement issued Thursday morning, Mr. Schneiderman apologized both to the women who accused him and to the people of New York. He said that he had spent time in “a rehab facility” and was “committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed.” In the immediate wake of the allegations, Mr. Schneiderman at first denied assaulting or abusing anyone, saying he had “engaged in role-playing” with the women. But in a statement issued Thursday morning, he apologized both to them and to the people of New York. He also said that he had spent time in “a rehab facility” and was “committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed.”
“I recognize that District Attorney Singas’ decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong,” he wrote. “I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers.” “I recognize that District Attorney Singas’ decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong,” he wrote. “I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them.”
One of the women, Michelle Manning Barish, described to The New Yorker being slapped by Mr. Schneiderman so violently and abruptly one day it left one of her ears ringing. Ms. Manning Barish said that when she tried to fight back, Mr. Schneiderman pushed her onto a bed, pinned her down with his body weight and then began to choke her.
Ms. Manning Barish said on Thursday she felt “completely vindicated” by Mr. Schneiderman’s apology, which she took as an admission that he had abused her and her fellow accusers. But she called on him to go further and to donate the millions of dollars he collected for his abandoned re-election campaign to groups that combat sexual violence against women.
“This is a victory for all women, but we need more than words,” she said in a written statement.
In October, another accuser, Tanya Selvaratnam, wrote an opinion article for The New York Times, detailing how Mr. Schneiderman often slapped her until she agreed to call him “master” and sometimes referred to her as his “property.”
Ms. Selvaratnam also claimed that Mr. Schneiderman frequently belittled her looks and told her that he could tap her phone and have her followed. “This wasn’t just cruel or weird sex,” she wrote. “It was one element in a larger dynamic of power and control.”