Actor Michael Pitt Charged With Sex Abuse, Assault

The actor was arraigned in a Brooklyn court after being charged with nine counts stemming from incidents more than four years ago.

Michael Pitt attends the "Day of The Fight" screening in in New York City on Nov. 15, 2024. Rob Kim/Getty Images

Michael Pitt, best known for his role on the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” is facing a number of sexual abuse charges.

The 44-year-old actor was arraigned on May 2 in Kings County Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn, New York, after being arrested that same day.

According to court records, the actor was charged with nine counts, including first-degree sexual abuse and strangulation in the second degree.

The alleged incidents occurred between April 2020 and August 2021, with Pitt pleading not guilty to all charges.

Bail has been set at $15,000, and his next court appearance is scheduled for June 17.

Pitt’s lawyer, Cary London, said he already had exonerating evidence and expected the case to be dismissed.

“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,” London told The Epoch Times in an email.

“We look forward to proving his innocence through the evidence and not thru the media.”

He added, “In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, from a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual relationship.”

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office indictment, obtained by The Epoch Times, details each incident with the victim’s name redacted.

It is unclear from the documents alone whether there is a sole victim involved or if there are multiple individuals accusing Pitt of the crimes, or the nature of their relationship with him.

According to the indictment, Pitt is accused of inappropriately touching “by means of forcible compulsion” on or between April 19 and 20, 2020. He is also accused of engaging in a sexual act by means of forcible compulsion and attempting to cause injury with a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon in August that same year.

The indictment also alleges Pitt attacked an individual with a cinder block twice in June 2021 and choked them in August 2021.

With 50 acting credits throughout film and television combined, Pitt rose to fame on the hit TV series “Dawson’s Creek,” before appearing in a number of movies including “The Dreamers,” “Funny Games,” and “Reptile.”

In 2011 and 2012, he was recognized for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series by the Screen Actors Guild for “Boardwalk Empire.”