Armie Hammer will not face criminal charges after sexual assault claims

The Call Me By Your Name actor will not face charges after years of investigation over sexual assault claims.

Armie Hammer attends the premiere of Columbia Pictures' "Bad Boys For Life" at TCL Chinese Theatre on January 14, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images,)

Hollywood actor Armie Hammer will not be charged after years of investigating claims he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.

“Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prove, which is why we assign our most experienced prosecutors to review them,” a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told the New York Post’s Page Six column.

“In this case, those prosecutors conducted an extremely thorough review, but determined that at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr Hammer with a crime.”

The spokesman added that there was an “ethical responsibility” to only progress cases that can be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Armie Hammer at the 2019 Film independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

“We know that it is hard for women to report sexual assault,” the spokesman also noted.

“Even when we cannot move forward with a prosecution, our victim service representatives will be available to those who seek our victim support services.

“Due to the complexity of the relationship and inability to prove a non-consensual, forcible sexual encounter we are unable to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In March 2021, a woman who identified herself only by her first name, Effie, came forward to accuse Hammer, 36, of “mentally, emotionally and sexually” abusing her throughout their four-year relationship.

She claimed the Call Me By Your Name star became “increasingly more violent” over the span of their romance and, on April 24, 2017, his abuse allegedly escalated to rape.

Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name.

She told Page Six in a statement on Wednesday that she was “disappointed” with the decision not to prosecute Hammer.

“I felt a duty to speak out and file a report in order to try to hold Armie accountable for all the harm and trauma he has caused me and in order to protect other women from experiencing similar abuse,” she added, reaffirming her claims.

“It has cost me a great deal to have spoken out and filed a report against Armie’s abuse.”

Effie noted that, since speaking out, she had allegedly received “death threats, rape threats, countless attacks, and atrocious, incessant harassment”.

“I believe that many of Armie’s victims were afraid to come forward. My hope is that one day, rapists won’t get away with it.”

The actor said he can now put his life back together, (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images,)

‘My name is cleared’: Armie Hammer

Page Six also contacted Hammer’s lawyer for comment.

However, the Social Network actor took to Instagram to express “a very special thank you to all of the people who have helped me get through this time. Onwards and upwards”.

He then added in a post, “I am very grateful to the District Attorney for conducting a thorough investigation and coming to the conclusion that I have stood by this entire time, that no crime was committed. I look forward to beginning what will be a long, difficult process of putting my life back together now that my name is cleared”.

He had previously denied Effie’s allegations and claimed in February that he engaged in “consensual” sexual acts with his former lover.

“She planned all of the details out, all the way down to what Starbucks I would see her at, how I would follow her home, how her front door would be open and unlocked, and I would come in, and we would engage in what is called a ‘consensual non-consent scene,’ CNC,” the actor alleged.

The interview was the first time Hammer had spoken out since sexual misconduct — including cannibalistic fetishism and BDSM fantasies — exploded over the internet.

Hammer’s lawyer also previously told Page Six that his client “maintained that all of his interactions with [Effie] — and every other sexual partner of his for that matter — have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory”.

The lawyer added, “[Effie’s] attention seeking and ill-advised legal bid will only make it more difficult for real victims of sexual violence to get the justice they deserve”.

Effie shared on her social media on Wednesday that it is — coincidentally — her birthday and instead of celebrating she has been speaking to police about the alleged “atrocious harassment” she has received for “weeks”.

She concluded, “What I want most to do: sleep. I just want sleep.”

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.