Les Moonves Won’t Face Sex-Abuse Charges Due to Statute of Limitations

Moonves. Photo: Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for AFI

The Los Angeles police have declined to pursue charges against embattled CBS chairman Les Moonves after a woman came to them with claims that he sexually abused her in the 1980s, because the statute of limitations on the claims had expired. That’s according to NBC News, which reports that the unidentified woman, an acquaintance of Moonves, went to the police in February to report three incidents, one in 1986 and two in 1988. NBC’s report comes after Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker exposé, which claims that Moonves sexually harassed women at CBS and promoted a larger culture of harassment, was published last week. According to NBC, it’s not known whether the woman who spoke to the LAPD was one of the six who spoke to Farrow about Moonves’s alleged abuse. In response to the allegations, Moonves has said, “I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career.†Yesterday, the CBS board met and said they would hire outside counsel for an investigation into Moonves, but the company has yet to take other action against the CEO.

LAPD Won’t Pursue Sex-Abuse Charges Against Les Moonves