LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- The Lake County State's Attorney's office said Friday it will not file charges against New York Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
Prosecutors said police investigated allegations that Levine had sexually abused a teenager in 1986 and 1987 when the alleged victim was 16 and 17 years old, respectively. The alleged victim reported the incidents to police in Lake Forest, Ill., in October 2016. Levine served as music director at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, from 1973 to 1993.
Prosecutors said a police investigation determined the age of consent in the state of Illinois at the time was 16, and said none of the complaints alleged use of force. Police also said records from the establishment where the acts were alleged to have occurred.
Prosecutors said at the conclusion of the police investigation, which also included interviewing witnesses close to both parties, they decided they could not bring criminal charges against Levine.
Levine denied the allegations of sexual misconduct, saying he wants to resume his work "with full concentration and inspiration."
The opera suspended Levine on Sunday after the Times published accounts from three accusers who say that Levine sexually abused them when they were teenagers. A fourth accuser later came forward.
Since the time of these allegations, the age of consent in Illinois has been raised to 17, and to 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority or supervision in relation to the victim, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office said.
