Scott Baio Won't Be Charged With Molesting Nicole Eggert

LOS ANGELES, CA — Scott Baio won't face charges for allegedly molesting "Charles in Charge" co-star Nicole Eggert because the statute of limitations has expired, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced this week.

At the height of the MeToo movement, Eggert, now 46, went public with accusations against Baio, alleging he sexually assaulted her while the two appeared together on the show, on which she co-starred from 1987-90. According to Eggert, the sexual abuse began when she was as young as 14-years-old.

Appearing on "Megyn Kelly Today" in February, Eggert said Baio sexually abused her for years when she was between the ages of 14 to 16 and Baio was an adult. Eggert said she didn't speak out because she wasn't ready to tell her story, NBC reported.

Baio has vehemently denied the allegations. He has conceded that he had sexual intercourse with Eggert, but not until she was 18 years old, he said. He said the encounter was consensual, insisting that Eggert seduced him. On her Twitter page, Eggert stressed that prosecutors declined to pursue a case based solely on the statute of limitations, "never (because) of lack of evidence!!"

According to a charge-evaluation worksheet dated Monday, prosecutors cited the statute of limitations as the reason for declining to file a case against the 57-year-old actor, also known for his work on "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi."

Eggert reported the alleged abuse to police in February, and "Charles in Charge" co-star Alexander Polinsky also met with police to back up her allegations.

"During the first year of the show, I was 11 or 12, I observed Scott with our co-star Nicole (Eggert) on his lap backstage. I was so naive I innocently hopped on his lap, expecting to hear a story about Fonzie or `Happy Days.' ... Scott Baio was a hero to me. I was 11 years old. Instead of telling us a story, Scott immediately threw me off him and began angrily calling me `faggot' while Nicole laughed.

"I felt confusion, shame and then fear when I realized I had judged the situation wrong, and it was not innocent, it was sexual in nature," Polinsky said. "Scott Baio began a pattern of abuse that was unrelenting. Mr. Baio repeatedly told me about gay sex acts that he told me I would grow up to perform. I would protest and ask him to stop saying these things, but he said it was for my own good."

Polinsky said Baio would brag to him about his sexual conquests "with young girls and co-stars of the show" while also describing Polinsky as "unlovable, defective and branding me with the most vulgar words for homosexuals that exist."

"Charles in Charge" aired for five seasons.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo Credit: MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock