Michael Pitt, an actor known for roles in “Boardwalk Empire” and “Dawson’s Creek,” has been arrested in New York City on charges of alleged sexual abuse.
According to court records viewed by Variety, Pitt was arrested and arraigned at Kings Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn on May 2 over an alleged incident dating back to April 2020. He was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, in addition to counts of assault injury with a blunt object and strangulation in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and according to TMZ, posted bail and was released from custody. His next court appearance is set for June 17.
The New York Post, which first broke the news of Pitt’s arrest, reported that the charges stem from four separate alleged incidents involving an ex-girlfriend between April 2020 and August 2021. According to the Post, within that time period Pitt allegedly sexually assaulted her and attacked her with objects including a cement block and a chunk of wood at their home in Bushwick. The alleged strangulation occurred in August 2021.
Jason Goldman, an attorney for Pitt, told Variety in a statement: “Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt — an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes — can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unhinged individual. In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed.”
Pitt has had a previous run-in with the law, occurring after the alleged sexual abuse. In July 2022, he was arrested and charged with assault and petty larceny after striking another man several times and taking his phone. That September, he was hospitalized after being accused of throwing items at people from a rooftop.
The actor has most recently been working in film, starring in three projects in 2023: the thriller “Asphalt City,” crime drama “Reptile” and boxing film “Day of the Fight.”
