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Disgraced Hollywood TV producer Eric Weinberg was pictured in prison garb for an appearance in Los Angeles court Wednesday, as he prepares to go to trial over allegations he lured women to his Los Feliz home only to sexually assault them.
Exclusive photos snapped by DailyMail.com show the 62-year-old – whose credits include work on shows like Scrubs, Politically Incorrect with Maher, and Californication – handcuffed in LA Superior Court after being denied bail in October.
Weinberg – who allegedly targeted young women in public places under the guise of being a photographer – at the time pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting five women between 2014 and 2019, whom prosecutors charge he lured to his home with offers of work.
Donning an orange prison jumpsuit for what should be his final appearance before heading to trial, the 62-year-old showrunnner – who wrote 11 episodes during Scrubs’ first six seasons – was ordered back in court for early next year.
His alleged crimes include 18 felony counts of rape, oral copulation, forcible sexual penetration, sexual battery by restraint, false imprisonment by use of violence, and attempted forcible penetration with a foreign object.
Disgraced Hollywood TV producer Eric Weinberg was pictured in prison garb for an appearance in Los Angeles court Wednesday, as he prepares to go to trial over allegations he lured women to his Los Feliz home only to sexually assault them
Exclusive photos snapped by DailyMail.com show the 62-year-old – whose credits include work on shows like Scrubs, Politically Incorrect with Maher, and Californication – handcuffed in LA Superior Court after being denied bail in October
Photos show a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff leading Weinberg – who was arrested in July and again in October as police investigated the women’s allegations – directing the restrained producer into court Wednesday morning.
The pretrial hearing saw the producer appear before Judge Kerry L. White, who ended proceedings by stating that Weinberg would be continued to be held until a scheduled court appearance in January to commence preparations for his trial.
Weinberg, one of the most prominent producers in the TV sector, produced several television shows over the course of his career, including Scrubs and American Dad.
Thus, his first arrest over the summer sent shockwaves throughout the industry, as the LA District Attorney’s office revealed some of the accusations leveled against him.
In 2014, the office said, Weinberg told two separate women that he was a photographer, invited them to his home, and sexually assaulted them.
Donning an orange prison jumpsuit for what should be his final appearance before heading to trial, the 62-year-old showrunnner – who wrote 11 episodes during Scrubs’ first six seasons – was ordered back in court for early next year
Weinberg – who allegedly targeted young women in public places under the guise of being a photographer – at the time pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting five women between 2014 and 2019, whom prosecutors charge he lured to his home with offers of work
The pretrial hearing saw the producer appear before Judge Kerry L. White, who ended proceedings by stating that Weinberg would be continued to be held until a scheduled court appearance in January to commence preparations for his trial
The District Attorney said that in 2017, Weinberg repeated the ruse on another woman. He was also accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in 2018 and 2019, according to the office’s criminal complaint.
Detectives at the time added that additional unidentified victims were also likely, and that the producer’s illicit behavior could go as far back as the early 1990s.
Weinberg’s bail was subsequently set at an eye-watering $3.5million, which he promptly paid and was allowed back on the street – during which time the DA’s office continued to build its case against the once respected TV writer.
His alleged crimes include 18 felony counts of rape, oral copulation, forcible sexual penetration, sexual battery by restraint, false imprisonment by use of violence, and attempted forcible penetration with a foreign object
Detectives add that in addition to the five women bringing the case, additional unidentified victims are also likely, and that the producer’s illicit behavior could go as far back as the early 1990s
The DA’s office further revealed in a release that prior to that arrest, Weinberg had twice been ‘investigated by the LAPD on suspicion of sexual assault, booking records and statements from the LAPD show.’ At least one woman warned about the producer’s alleged predatory behavior in a Facebook group.
Officials at the time urged anyone with relevant information to their case come forward – to which dozens of possible victims reportedly complied, with each incident reviewed for potential charging.
The DA said Weinberg was previously investigated several times by the city’s police department, but that his office lacked the necessary evidence to go through with a case
Roughly three months later, Weinberg was again arrested – roughly a week after District Attorney George Gascón announced the 18 finalized charges against him.
Notoriously soft on crime, Gascón at the time remarked on how the producer’s reign of terror went unchecked for likely more than a decade, and lamented at how Weinberg could use the vast fortune he amassed during that time to stay on the streets as officials gather evidence for trial.
Weinberg, at the time, posted a $5 million bond and was again released, but was eventually denied bail during a court appearance later in the month – and remained incarcerated until Wednesday’s proceedings.
‘In this particular case, we have a man who believed that he could do great harm and yet remain untouchable, and he did for many years,’ Gascón said, adding, ‘As we anticipated, he used his incredible wealth to bail out.’
The DA added how Weinberg was previously investigated several times by the city’s police department, but that his office lacked the necessary evidence to go through with a case.
Now, after receiving dozens of tips on a hotline created to aid the case, prosecutors are confident they have the means to pursue a case, bolstered by harrowing accounts offered by the five unnamed women.
One of those victims was a 22-year-old he met in a coffee shop in 2014. She said he lured her back to his home then forced her to perform oral sex on him, pinning her down and choking her ‘so hard that I thought I was going to pass out.’
The woman further alleged that while taking photos, Weinberg grabbed her, forced to perform oral sex, choked her and then raped her, according to court documents filed by Gascon’s office.
Court records showed that three other of Weinberg’s accusers testified against him during the producer’s 2020 divorce.
An LAPD spokesperson described how Weinberg, who was nominated for five Emmy awards – two for his work on ‘Scrubs,’ three as part of Bill Maher’s old ABC talk show ‘Politically Incorrect,’ – would target women in public places before engaging in his predatory practices.
‘Weinberg was a Hollywood producer/writer and appears to have targeted women in grocery stores, coffee shops, and other public places,’ the department said.
He ‘would approach the women who were in their 20-30s, under the guise of being a photographer and would set up photo shoots with them.
‘Once the women were in his residence, he would sexually assault them during the photo shoot.’
Weinberg has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges leveled against him, as his lawyers continued to argue for his third release pending his next court appearance.
In July, back when he was free on bail, DailyMail.com photographed a gaunt looking Weinberg taking out trash at the same posh residence where the producer allegedly carried out the attacks. His trial is set to proceed in the coming months.
If convicted, Weinberg faces more than 100 years in prison. He served as co-executive producer on nearly 100 episodes of Scrubs between 2000 and 2006. He also producing and writing credits on several other hit shows, including ‘Anger Management,’ ‘Men at Work,’ and ‘Veronica’s Closet.’
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