Former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett indicted by Chicago grand jury after a special prosecutor re-investigated allegations he bogusly reported being the victim of a January 2019 hate-crime attack, officials say.
The embattled actor was indicted by a grand jury over making false police reports last year following an alleged attack in Chicago. ABC News’ Kenneth Moton reports.
Toomin directed Webb to launched an independent investigation to determine whether Smollett should be further prosecuted for the allegedly false reports he made to police and whether"any person or office involved in the Smollett case engaged in wrongdoing, including the Cook County State's Attorney's Office or individuals in that office," Webb's statement reads.
The special prosecutor determined that"reasonable grounds exist" to further prosecute Smollett"in the interest of justice." Another"major factor" in determining whether to prosecute Smollett was that the office of the Cook County State's Attorney was unable to provide to the special prosecutor evidence of similar cases that showed Smollett received no special treatment.
Police said Smollett's story of being the victim of an attack began to unravel when police tracked down two men, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who they said were seen in a security video near where Smollett claimed he was assaulted and around the same time it supposedly occurred. The brothers' attorney said the check from Smollett was payment for both the personal training and their help in staging the attack.In mid-February 2019, in an exclusive interview with"Good Morning America," Smollett said he was heartbroken when he found out that people questioned the details of his story.
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