Lincoln Adim, a contestant on The Bachelorette, was found guilty of indecent assault and battery for groping and assaulting a woman two years ago. He was convicted on May 21 this year, though according to a statement from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the incident occurred “on a harbor cruise ship early on May 30, 2016.†As of this week, Adim has not been eliminated from the show, but he has been “sentenced to one year in a house of correction, with that term suspended for a two-year probationary period. The judge ordered him to stay away from the victim and attend three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week during those two years. If he complies with the judge’s orders, he will not have to serve out his term, but if he fails to comply with those orders or re-offends, he could be ordered to serve out the year behind bars.â€
Reality Steve first reported the news of Adim’s sentencing yesterday with the help of former contestant Ashley Spivey, who pointed out that Adim may have to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction. Though Adim was not convicted until after the series was shot, he was charged in 2016, something that, as Spivey argued, ABC should have noticed while conducting background checks on contestants. Though the network apparently wasn’t thorough in general this season.
Update: Warner Bros. has issued the following statement regarding Lincoln Adim.
No one on The Bachelorette production had any knowledge about the incident or charges when Lincoln Adim was cast, and he himself denied ever having engaged in or having been charged with any sexual misconduct. We employ a well-respected and highly experienced third party who has done thousands of background checks consistent with industry standards to do a nationwide background check in this case. The report we received did not reference any incident or charge relating to the recent conviction — or any other charges relating to sexual misconduct. We are currently investigating why the report did not contain this information, which we will share when we have it.
Additional reporting contributed by Molly Fitzpatrick.