Los Angeles prosecutors weigh charges in Eric Swalwell sexual assault case
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are deciding whether to charge former congressman Eric Swalwell in a sex assault case, NBC News and the New York Post reported. A woman named Lonna Drewes said in April that he drugged and attacked her. His lawyer said he is innocent and that sending the case to prosecutors is just a normal step.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is weighing whether to bring charges in a case involving former congressman Eric Swalwell, NBC News and the New York Post reported Thursday. The district attorney's sex crimes unit has the case, and no decision has been announced, NBC News reported.
The county sheriff's victims' unit investigated the case and sent it to prosecutors on Sept. 21, a spokesperson said, according to NBC News. The Post reported that the district attorney's office confirmed Thursday it is reviewing the case.
The case involves Lonna Drewes, a former model and owner of a fashion software company. At an April news conference with her lawyers in Los Angeles, Drewes accused Swalwell of drugging, sexually assaulting and choking her, NBC News reported. The Post reported that she said the encounter happened in 2018 in his West Hollywood hotel room.
Swalwell, a Democrat, denies the accusations. An attorney for Swalwell, Sara Azari, said in an email that he is "innocent," adding that "these allegations are false, and the facts will bear that out," NBC News reported. "The reported referral to the Los Angeles County District Attorney is a standard procedural step. It is not a charging decision. It is not a finding of wrongdoing," Azari said, according to NBC News. In an April 10 video responding to earlier allegations published by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN, Swalwell said, "These allegations of sexual assault are flat false," NBC News reported.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April and dropped out of the race for California governor after several women made sexual misconduct allegations against him, NBC News and the Post reported. NBC News reported that FBI agents searched his Washington home in August and seized his phone and laptop at the San Francisco airport the same month, in a federal investigation described at the time as involving sexual misconduct allegations.
The Post reported that its photographer saw Swalwell leaving a Washington home on Wednesday evening and that he declined to answer its questions about the investigations. The district attorney's office has not said if or when charges will be filed, the Post reported.
What we know: Los Angeles County prosecutors are reviewing a sheriff's investigation into Drewes's accusation against Swalwell, who denies it.
What we don't: Whether prosecutors will file charges, or when they will decide.
Where outlets agree NBC News and the New York Post both report that Los Angeles County prosecutors are reviewing a sexual assault case involving Eric Swalwell after a sheriff's investigation.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.