It has been unraveled that prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office are no longer able to pursue criminal action against the veteran action man due to statute of limitations.

• Dec 22, 2018

AceShowbiz - Veteran action man Steven Seagal will not face charges over an alleged sexual assault dating back to 2002 because the statute of limitations has expired.

Los Angeles authorities began investigating the "Under Siege" star's past behaviour earlier this year, when a woman, who was not named in the filing, accused Seagal of sexual misconduct during an incident between 1 May and 31 August, 2002.

However, on Friday, December 21, it was revealed that prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office were unable to pursue any further criminal action because his alleged victim had waited too long to lodge the complaint, reports TMZ.

Full details about the reported encounter were not released, but the woman's lawyer, Lisa Bloom, has confirmed the case involved her client, aspiring Dutch actress/model Faviola Dadis, who went public with her side of the story at a press conference in March.

At the event, she detailed for the first time how Seagal had allegedly groped her breasts and touched her vagina during what she thought was a casting session in his Beverly Hills hotel suite back when Dadis was just 17.

Dadis was joined at the press conference by fellow accuser Regina Simons, who had stated that Seagal raped her at his Beverly Hills mansion in 1993, when she was an 18-year-old virgin.

At the time, Seagal's attorney, Anthony Falangetti, insisted his client was innocent of the sexual misconduct allegations, and dismissed both accounts as "completely fictitious and totally made up".

Prosecutors ended up rejecting Simons' case in September, also citing the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The embattled 66-year-old star has found himself under scrutiny for the past year, after actresses including Portia de Rossi, Julianna Margulies, and Jenny McCarthy came forward with their claims of inappropriate behaviour against Seagal as part of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse.

The actor was recently quizzed about the allegations in a TV interview for the BBC's "Newsnight" show, but when asked how he is dealing with the scandal, Seagal ripped out his earpiece, stood up and walked off.

His representative had previously denied all of the actresses' accusations.