Film director David O. Russell (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees) was being investigated for potential criminal battery after he groped his 19-year-old transgender niece, according to the Chicago Tribune. Russell admitted to the action, but also claimed it was consensual.
A rep for the Broward County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office told TMZ that the case was closed. No charges were filed because police did not witness the alleged assault.
Russell, 53, grabbed Nicole Peloquin’s (birth name: Nicholas) breasts during a work out in a South Florida hotel gym Dec. 30, 2011. Peloquin is the child of Russell’s adoptive sister, Barbara Jane Peloquin.
According to Russell, Peloquin let him “feel both of his [sic] breasts.” Russell then reportedly asked Peloquin “to ‘pinky swear’ about her letting him touch his breasts.” Russell also told authorities that Peloquin is “always causing drama since the transgender transformation and has become very provocative and seductive.”