Justin Roiland, the lead actor and co-creator of the Rick and Morty and recent video game star and developer appeared in court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing for felony and domestic violence charges.
The incident occurred on January 19th, 2020 according to a complaint filed in May 2020 in Orange County, California, according to NBC News. The alleged victim, Jane Doe, has detailed in the report that she was in a relationship with Roiland at the time of the incident. Detained in August 2020, he was released on a 50,000 dollar bond before being arraigned in October 2020, NBC confirms.
42-year-old Roiland has pleaded not guilty to counts of domestic battery and corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit. A protective order has been filed against Roiland by an unknown source, stating that he is not to go within 100 feet of the alleged victim, according to NBC News. As of right now, it has not been made clear who filed the protective order at this time.
The details containing the nature of Roiland's case files have also been sealed, leading to more extensive knowledge surrounding the cause, which is unknown at this time. More than a dozen court hearings, including pre-trial hearings, have taken place since then regarding the case. Although no additional information has been provided, Roiland's attorney stated during the pre-trial hearing on Thursday that they are still considering a plea agreement. The hearing will reconvene on April 27th of this year. A date for the actual trial has not been set at this time.
Roiland is also the CEO of High on Life developer Squanch Games, where he is also the lead voice actor. Along with Rick and Morty, which Roiland co-created with Community creator Dan Harmon, Roiland serves as the co-creator and star of Hulu's Solar Opposites and as an executive producer (and guest star) on Hulu's latest animated series Koala Man. Roiland also recently released an animated Halloween special, The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!, in which he collaborated with other artists to create a collection of Halloween shorts. Currently, there is no indication if these legal proceedings will have any effect on Roiland's current or future projects.
Source: NBC News