Former adult film star deemed incompetent to stand trial

Ron Jeremy Hyatt Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
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Former adult film star Ron Jeremy Hyatt, who’s been indicted on more than 30 sexual assault counts, was deemed mentally incompetent Tuesday, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. 

A grand jury returned an indictment against the 69-year-old Hyatt on Aug. 19, 2021, alleging he had more than 20 victims, including a 15-year-old girl who allegedly was sexually assaulted during a 2004 party in Santa Clarita. 

Hyatt’s attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, said Wednesday it was a shame he wouldn’t get to argue the facts of the case in court, maintaining his client’s innocence in a phone interview. 

“Two years ago, when he was first arrested, I believed he was innocent, and over the next two years, when I had seen more discovery,” Goldfarb said, “I still believe that he was innocent.”  

The indictment accuses Hyatt — known in his film career as Ron Jeremy — of sexually assaulting 21 women over a 23-year period going back to 1996. The alleged victims ranged in age from 15 to 51, according to the complaint.  

Goldfarb, who said he’s known Hyatt for about 40 years, began to see issues he associated with the “normal aging” process roughly two and a half years ago when the case began, but more recently it became apparent he was having difficulties. 

Now that Hyatt is not going to be criminally prosecuted due to the issues cited in court, the next step is a “placement hearing,” according to the DA’s office. 

“And so, the question is, ‘Where should someone who’s charged, not convicted, be placed when they have mental issues?’” Goldfarb said, calling the situation an interesting constitutional question.  

Goldfarb said he’s known Hyatt since he represented an adult film producer accused of a pimping and pandering charge in the early 1980s. Goldfarb said he successfully argued that case in front of the California Supreme Court, which led to his meeting Hyatt.  

A series of hearings going forward in the case will look to address the questions of whether he’s considered a danger to the community, and if so, what would be appropriate and, if not, what’s appropriate, Goldfarb said. 

Hyatt’s next hearing is set for Feb. 7. 

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