Former New York AG Eric Schneiderman Won't Face Criminal Charges Over Assault Allegations

Former New York state attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman, who resigned in May after four women accused him of sexual misconduct, will not face criminal charges.

The New York Times reports that Nassau County district attorney Madeline Singas found the accusers credible, but declined to bring charges because there were “legal hurdles,” including that “some of the accusations were too old to pursue under state law.”

In May, the New Yorker’s Jane Meyer and Ronan Farrow reported allegations from three former romantic partners who said that Schneiderman choked, hit, and slapped them without consent. Two of them, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, spoke on the record, alleging “that he repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent.” A fourth woman told the New Yorker that after she rebuffed Schneiderman’s advances, “he slapped her across the face with such force that it left a mark that lingered the next day.”

Schneiderman, a Democrat who had positioned himself as a champion for women’s rights, resigned following the report, saying that “I strongly contest” the allegations.

The New York Times reports that on Thursday morning, Schneiderman released a statement saying that he had been to “a rehab facility” and was “committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed.”

“I recognize that District Attorney Singas’ decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong,” he wrote. “I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers.”