Women say they met porn actor Jeremy for fun; rape came next

Testimony from more than 20 women showed that adult film actor Ron Jeremy used his celebrity status to meet women who he then raped and sexually assaulted

LOS ANGELES -- Adult film actor Ron Jeremy leveraged the novelty of his celebrity to meet and often isolate women who he raped and sexually assaulted, using the same tactics for years, according to grand jury testimony from 21 women that was unsealed Saturday. “Wouldn't it be funny if we got a picture and an autograph from him?” one woman, identified only as Jane Doe 8, said she remembered telling her friend when they saw Jeremy in 2013 at a West Hollywood bar and grill. He would sexually assault her minutes later, testified the woman, one of several who said their attacks came in the same small bathroom. “I was like, wow, you know, this is Ron Jeremy, I mean, I was kind of impressed. I’m like he’s — I don’t want to say ‘celebrity,’ but you know, he kind of was,” said another woman, Jane Doe 7, when Jeremy came to the door of the Hollywood hotel room she was sharing with friends, where the porn actor would rape her soon after, according to her testimony. Jeremy, 68, whose legal name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of sexual assault, including 12 counts of rape, when the Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment against him on Aug. 25. He has been in jail since his arrest in June 2020. His attorney, Stuart Goldfarb, has said he is “innocent of all the charges" and they would prove it. An email seeking further comment from Goldfarb on Saturday was not immediately returned.