The trial of former Scrubs producer Eric Weinberg opened Thursday in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege he used the prospect of amateur photo shoots to bring women to his Los Feliz home and sexually assaulted them between 2014 and 2019. Weinberg, 66, has pleaded not guilty. Variety reports that seven women whose allegations are part of the criminal case are expected to testify, along with an eighth woman whose allegations are not charged in this trial.
The central dispute is over how jurors should assess consent and Weinberg’s conduct. Prosecutors say the women were lured under a false pretext and describe a pattern of assaults; the Los Angeles Times reports that the charges allege more than 20 sexual acts. Defense attorney Philip Cohen argued that prosecutors must prove the legal elements of sexual assault, including that Weinberg knew a woman was afraid or wanted him to stop. He also suggested some later complaints could be motivated by money, the Times reported. Those are defense arguments, not findings by the jury.
The case’s counts have changed over time
The current trial follows an investigation and charging process that expanded after Weinberg’s 2022 arrest. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office initially announced an 18-count complaint involving five women and alleged assaults from 2014 to 2019. Later reporting described 28 charges involving eight alleged victims; a judge dismissed four counts, three as outside the statute of limitations and one for insufficient evidence. Variety’s current trial report describes Weinberg as facing 23 counts. The published totals differ across stages of the case and are not fully reconciled in those reports.
That history makes the limits on prosecuting older allegations relevant as general context, but it does not establish which rules apply to any particular count here. In Stogner v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a prosecution revived after its limitations period had expired, holding that the Constitution’s ex post facto clause barred that step, according to the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. The ruling concerned a separate case; it is not a finding about Weinberg or the allegations being tried.
Reporting figures offer context, not proof
The trial also brings into focus a broader challenge in interpreting when people report sexual violence. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 65 percent of rape or sexual-assault victimizations went unreported to police during 2006–2010, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey. That is an older national estimate, not a measure of this case or an explanation for any individual’s decision about reporting. It cannot establish what happened to any of the women whose allegations are before the jury.
Weinberg worked as a writer and executive producer on Scrubs, among other television credits. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, Variety reports; its outcome will turn on the evidence and legal instructions presented in court.
