The Los Angeles County District Attorney's (DA) office has decided to drop the filing of sexual assault charges against actor Armie Hammer, following a lengthy investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The DA’s office issued a statement that states that it could not prove rape allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, in part due to the "complexity of the relationship" between Hammer and the accuser, reports 'Variety'.
As per the ‘Variety’, the alleged victim and accuser who was previously identified as Effie, reported Hammer to the police in February 2021.
She claimed that Hammer had been physically abusive during an on-and-off relationship that spanned four years, and said that he had violently raped her in 2017. However, Hammer has vehemently denied her allegations.
The DA's office said that it assigns experienced prosecutors to review sexual assault investigations.
"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," the office said.
"As prosecutors, we have an ethical responsibility to only charge cases that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt 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."
However, accusations from Effie and other women have impacted Hammer’s career, which has been severely damaged. He starred in the movies 'The Social Network' and 'Call Me by Your Name', has not worked in Hollywood since allegations surfaced in early 2021.
The allegations against Hammer first surfaced on social media via an Instagram account run by Effie. Meanwhile, other women joined with their own allegations on social media, creating a flurry of viral headlines, including accusations of cannibalistic and BDSM fetishes that women said were used as a smokescreen for emotional and physical abuse.
Image Source: Instagram