Anthony Anderson Rape Charge Dismissed
| Anthony Anderson Rape Charge Dismissed |
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| Written by Robert ID774 |
| Wednesday, 26 January 2005 23:19 |
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State prosecutors will not pursue rape charges against "Barbershop" and "Kangaroo Jack" actor Anthony Anderson and a film director, who had charges against them dismissed by a judge last fall. Anderson, 34, and Wayne Witherspoon, 43, were accused of attacking an extra last summer on the set of the hip-hop rap themed film "Hustle & Flow." But a judge threw out the case, saying testimony by the accuser was some of the most suspicious he had heard in 20 years. Prosecutor District Attorney General Bill Gibbons said Wednesday his office had reviewed the case and decided not to seek a grand jury criminal indictment against Anderson and Witherspoon, an assistant director of the film. "At this point we do not feel we have a provable case," said Gibbons, adding the accuser was notified by letter earlier this month. Anderson's attorney, Leslie Ballin, could not be reached for comment. The woman, 25, told authorities in July that Anderson and Witherspoon sexually assaulted her in a dressing room trailer despite her screams for them to stop. She also said the men had forced her to have sex twice the previous day in a downtown hotel, but she did not report the alleged incident to police. The woman's former boyfriend testified at a preliminary hearing that she told him she was falsely claiming she was raped to get money from Anderson and Witherspoon. "Hustle & Flow," a rap-themed movie written and directed by Craig Brewer of Memphis, recently was purchased by Paramount/MTV Films for $16 million at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. |
