Seal won't be charged with sex crime, district attorney says

Maria Puente | USA TODAY

Los Angeles prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Seal in connection with allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior lodged by actress Tracey Birdsall.

Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, told USA TODAY Monday that prosecutors declined to file charges against the British singer. Santiago did not offer details.

Last month, Seal, who turns 55 on Feb. 19, "vehemently denied" accusations of sexual misconduct by his former neighbor, vowing to "vigorously defend himself against these false allegations.”

Earlier, Birdsall, 54, told TMZ — and eventually, authorities — that Seal made an unwanted advance, groped her and tried to kiss her when they were in the kitchen of his Los Angeles home in 2016.

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Birdsall, who was in The Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter, said that after she rejected Seal, he insinuated that with her attire — shorts and a tank top — she was sending a message. She also claims he groped her breasts, which she says she told him to stop.

Birdsall came forward after Seal posted a Facebook video on Jan. 11, labeled #TellTheTruth, in which he called himself a supporter of the Me Too movement to call out sexual abuse and urged women to come forward with their stories.

"To all of you who have been raped, to all of you who have been sexually abused, I applaud you for coming forward," Seal said in the video. "What you did takes real courage and please keep showing that courage and please keep coming forward because that's the only way that we get to solve this thing. We talk about it, we open dialogue, we solve it."

Late Monday, Birdsall issued a statement to USA TODAY, saying she was glad she came forward if for nothing else that it helped her prepare for a "very difficult" scene in a forthcoming movie.

"The police and the DA have their jobs to do, and it’s really not my place to tell them how to do it or to have an opinion on it," she said in her email.

"Nobody would come forward in a case like this for attention (at least not anyone in their right minds)," she added. "To those of you who haven’t spoken up, there is no shame in doing so, but also no glory. Do not hide your life experiences to protect another who didn’t take your feelings into consideration when they didn’t respect your body or your personal integrity.”

Seal had no comment, his rep, Luke Burland, told USA TODAY.