Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland has been cleared of domestic abuse charges against a former girlfriend.
Prosecutors in Orange County, California, previously charged the 42-year-old with corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, violence or deceit against the woman, who he was living with at the time.
The animator, who also voiced Rick and Morty’s two titular characters, had pleaded not guilty over the incident, which allegedly occurred in January 2020, as reported by Associated Press.
Now Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s office, told Variety that the charges had been dismissed “as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In response to the charges being dropped, Roiland shared a statement online, which read: “I have always known that these claims were false – and I never had any doubt that this day would come.
“I’m thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.
justice pic.twitter.com/1q9M4GA6MV
— Justin Roiland (@JustinRoiland) March 22, 2023
“Most of all, I’m disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts … That it may have succeeded, even partially, is shameful.
“However, now that the legal case has ended, I’m determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.”
The incident occurred back in January of 2020 and Roiland was charged in May of that year and released on a $50,000 (£40,583) bond in May 2020, before being indicted in October.
However, the charges went unnoticed by media outlets until NBC News reported on them in January 2023 when a pre-trial hearing was held in the case.
The publication added that a protective order was filed, which lasts until October 2023, which outlined that he was “not to harass, threaten or survey” the unnamed woman in the protective order, and cannot go within 100 feet of them.
The voice actor was also ordered to turn in any firearms in his possession or ownership.
After the charges against Roiland came to light in January, streaming service Hulu followed Adult Swim in ending its association with him.
Roiland is the co-creator of Hulu’s Solar Opposites, and was also a producer and actor on its other animated show, Koala Man, which have continued without his involvement.
Along with Dan Harmon, Roiland created the animated sci-fi sitcom about a mad scientist and his grandson, and provides the voices of the two title characters.
Rick and Morty has aired for six seasons on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim night-time programming block.
