Saudi prince accused of sexually assaulting employee escapes felony charge

A Saudi prince, Majed Abdulaziz al-Saud, accused of trying to sexually assault a worker at a Beverly Hills estate will not face a felony charge in the case, the Los Angeles County prosecutor's office said on Monday, though he still could face misdemeanor criminal charges.

Saud was arrested on Sept. 23 at a gated mansion in Beverly Hills and booked on suspicion of trying to force an employee to perform oral sex, police said. He was released on $300,000 bond the next day, according to police and online jail records.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said on Monday that it declined to bring felony charges and referred the case to the Los Angeles city attorney for consideration of possible misdemeanor charges, a spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for the city attorney said the case remains under review by that office but no decision has been made.

His attorney, Alan Jackson, told The Los Angeles Times that Saud, 29, was innocent. “The decision by the D.A.’s office not to file charges shows that the accuser’s stories cannot be substantiated,” Jackson said. “The sheikh is very happy to put it behind him and move on with his life.” 

Saud was arrested after someone called authorities to report a bleeding woman screaming and trying to scale a wall of the estate he was renting in Beverly Hills, a neighbor told The Los Angeles Times last month.

He was named in a civil suit filed in late September by three women who allege he sexually harassed them that month in Beverly Hills, City News Service reported.

An attorney for the estate employee who accused him of assault at the home could not immediately be located.

Wire services