Renowned civil rights lawyer Sanford Rubenstein has escaped being formally charged with rape in New York after the friend of Al Sharpton was accused of sexually assaulting a much younger woman last year. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office chose not to even bring the case before a grand jury there due to lack of evidence.
In a statement, it explained, “Given the available evidence, the degree of the complainant’s recollection of what occurred at the suspect’s apartment, and the results of the toxicological testing, neither the provable facts nor the applicable law support a prosecution in this matter.”
Rubenstein read from a statement at his lawyer’s office, saying, “I maintained from the beginning that I did not violate the law. I am pleased that the system worked, and I have now been fully cleared.”
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The accusation of rape was made against Rubenstein by an unidentified woman who claimed that it occurred after the 60th birthday party for the controversial MSNBC host Al Sharpton last October 2nd.
Her lawyer, Kenneth J. Montgomery, of course, criticized the decision not to prosecute, saying, “We knew from the inception that they had no intention of prosecuting. The way they [NY DA Office] handled this case is outrageous, and it will have a chilling effect on sexual victims coming forward, particularly when the suspect is someone of affluence. Their attorney has a close relationship with the prosecuting office.”
The 70-year-old Rubenstein, however, could still face a civil suit that his 43-year-old accuser might bring.
