The special prosecutor investigating former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday that she couldn't bring criminal charges over allegations he physically abused women he dated, in part, because current state law doesn't explicitly outlaw such behavior.
In closing the six-month investigation, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas implored lawmakers to pass legislation to criminalize slapping, shoving and other violence committed for sexual gratification.
Singas, who was appointed to conduct the investigation by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in May, said investigators conducted an "exhaustive review" and that she personally interviewed each woman who had accused Schneiderman of assault. Investigators also spoke with members of Schneiderman's security detail and people who worked for him in the attorney general's office, she said.
"I believe the women who shared their experiences with our investigation team, however legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution," Singas said in a statement announcing her decision.
She said she found no misconduct by attorney general's office staff.
Schneiderman, 63, said he recognizes that Singas' decision "does not mean I have done nothing wrong."
"I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them," Schneiderman said through a publicist. "After spending time in a rehab facility, I am committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed. I apologize for any and all pain that I have caused, and I apologize to the people of the State of New York for disappointing them after they put their trust in me."
Schneiderman, a Democrat, announced his resignation in May, hours after The New Yorker published an expose saying that four women had accused him of slapping or choking them.
Some of the women said Schneiderman was a heavy drinker.
Schneiderman at the time didn't deny the allegations, but implied in an initial statement his conduct was either welcomed or was not as the women described.
Michelle Manning Barish, a Democratic activist and writer, said Schneiderman became controlling and abusive — slapping her hard across the face and choking her — soon after they started dating in mid-2013.
Manning Barish said Thursday she felt "completely vindicated" by Schneiderman's acknowledgement he had abused women, and said she would work to ensure that legislation outlawing such behavior is passed into law.
Tanya Selvaratnam, an author and film producer who dated Schneiderman in 2016 and 2017 and described similar abuse, thanked Singas "for the care she gave to the investigation."
"This experience underscores the need for legislation addressing intimate violence so all of those who experience it can come forward knowing they have protection under the law," Selvaratnam said in a statement.
Under current New York law, a slap, shove, or kick that doesn't cause physical injury can be charged as a non-criminal violation, but only if the offender's intent is to "alarm, harass, or annoy" the victim.
Charges can't be brought if the offender's intent is sexual arousal or gratification, unless the victim proves the violence caused substantial pain or injuries that go beyond bumps, bruises and cuts.
Singas' proposal calls for classifying sexually motivated violence as a misdemeanor, which would carry punishment of up to one year in jail, along with a two-year statute of limitations.
Manning Barish's lawyer, Debra Katz, said closing the gap in the law is "crucial to protect victims of sexual abuse and violence from the deeply emotionally scarring injuries they experience in their intimate relationships."
"Without it, abusers can get off scot-free — even when they later admit to the behavior, as Mr. Schneiderman did today," Katz said.
In the meantime, Manning Barish is calling on Schneiderman to donate millions of dollars left in his campaign coffers to women's shelters and domestic abuse programs in the state, and that she wished him well in his recovery.
"This is a victory for all women but we need more than words," she said.
Schneiderman's campaign fund had about $7.4 million as of July, according to a campaign finance report filed with the state. He had even more money stockpiled, but his campaign refunded about $1 million in donations in the two months after he quit.
Schneiderman's publicist didn't immediately respond to a question about his plans for the money.
Cuomo appointed Singas as a special prosecutor, bypassing Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. because of a potential conflict of interest. At the time, the attorney general's office was investigating how Vance's office had handled a sexual misconduct allegation against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The allegations tarnished Schneiderman's reputation as a defender of women at the forefront of the #MeToo movement. Schneiderman launched an investigation last year into movie producer Harvey Weinstein's studio, and in February filed a lawsuit aimed at securing better compensation for his sexual misconduct accusers.
After The New Yorker story was published, Manning Barish wrote on Twitter: "After the most difficult month of my life-I spoke up. For my daughter and for all women. I could not remain silent and encourage other women to be brave for me. I could not."
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The investigation into the Brown University mass shooting has dragged on for more than four days with no named suspect, motive, weapon or even a clear image of the assailant's face that might help bring them to justice.
Investigators have been hobbled by the lack of clear eyewitness accounts of the shooter and few, if any, cameras in the wing of the building where the attack happened. Despite these difficulties, frustration was mounting Wednesday over the lack of progress in the investigation into the attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.
Here are some answers to questions about the attack and investigation:
The attack plunged the Ivy League school's campus into chaos, and there was initial confusion in the immediate aftermath. This includes President Donald Trump, who announced Saturday night that the shooter was in custody but retracted that statement 20 minutes later. Then, authorities announced early Sunday that they had detained a person of interest, but they released the person hours later after determining he didn't do it.
Police officials insist the man's detention didn't stop them from continuing to investigate other leads before his release.
Authorities have since released several security videos of a person they think might have carried out the attack. They show the individual standing, walking and even running along the streets, but their face is masked or turned away in all of them.
The state attorney general said the wing of the building where the attack happened has few “if any” cameras, and investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus. The building is on the edge of campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.
Separately, Providence police on Wednesday released a new photo of a different individual who they said was in “proximity of the person of interest” and asked the public to help identify that person so they could speak with them.
On Wednesday, Providence’s police chief, Col. Oscar Perez, said student witnesses’ accounts of the shooter match the masked person that authorities are seeking. They have stopped short of calling them a suspect, referring to them, too, as a person of interest — stressing that they believe the person was casing the area ahead of the attack.
Very little, aside from what we see of them in the footage. Investigators have described the person as being about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall and stocky.
We still don't know. Although police said this week that they believe Brown was targeted and that the videos suggest the masked person was casing the building, no one has taken credit for the attack and investigators apparently still hadn't identified a suspect as of Wednesday.
Police once again stressed Wednesday that they haven't found any evidence that a specific person was being targeted in the attack.
Police say they still don't know. The finals study session was for a “Principles of Economics” course that attracts hundreds of students each semester, but police are still tracking down how many may have been in the room.
Paxson said the university has two security systems. One is activated at a time of emergency and sent out text messages, phone calls and emails that, in this shooting, reached 20,000 people. The other system features three sirens across campus, but Paxson said that would not be activated in an active shooter situation. Brown’s website says the sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but Paxson said it “depends on the circumstances” and the location of the shooter.
The two students who were killed and the nine others injured were studying for a final in a first-floor classroom in an older section of the engineering building when the shooter walked in and opened fire.
The students who were killed were 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Cook, whose funeral is Monday, was active in her Alabama church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans. Umurzokov’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a child, and he aspired to be a doctor.
As for the wounded, one remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday and five were in stable condition, officials said. The other three were discharged.
Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty, Matt O'Brien and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.
This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)
A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)
A Brown University student leaves campus, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, after all classes, exams and papers were canceled for the rest of the Fall 2025 semester following the school shooting, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
