Bachelorette alum Lincoln Adim may soon be required to wear a GPS monitor after withdrawing a guilty plea on one count of indecent assault and battery in his sexual assault case, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The ABC reality personality, who was eliminated by Becca Kufrin during week six of the series, vacated his plea after initially pleading guilty in May last week, as was first reported by former Bachelor contestant Ashley Spivey on Twitter, prompting the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts to file a notice of appeal.
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In the notice of appeal, the DA’s office is arguing that while defendants convicted of Adim’s charges would be required by law to wear a GPS monitor, the judge never imposed that aspect of the sentence when he was sentenced to one year in a house of correction, suspended for a two-year probationary period, in May.
The case is now scheduled for a new hearing on July 27.
Adim’s case stemmed from a May 2016 incident on a cruise ship, during which he allegedly groped and assaulted a woman, but made headlines in June, when the series was already airing the season on which he was cast.
Warner Bros. Television, the production company behind The Bachelorette, said at the time that while background checks of all contestants are conducted, Adim lied about the situation surrounding his arrest.
“No one on The Bachelorette production had any knowledge about the incident or the charges when Lincoln Adim was cast, and he himself denied ever having engaged in or been charged with any sexual misconduct,” the statement from the studio, released by TMZ, read.
“We employ a well-respected and highly experienced third party who has done thousands of background checks consistent with industry standards to do a nationwide background check on this case,” the statement continued. “The report we received did not reference any incident or charge relating to the recent conviction — or any other charges relating to sexual misconduct. We are currently investigating why the report did not contain this information.”
Since news of Adim’s conviction was released, Spivey has condemned the show’s background check process for being incomplete.
“I am honestly horrified that Lincoln, who was charged with indecent assault and battery, was allowed to go on the show. I do not understand how a serious crime like this was missed during background checks,” Spivey wrote on Twitter at the time. “Let me be clear that I do not think production would ever allow this for drama purposes. I really think it is a huge problem for whoever does the background checks into the contestants.”
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo credit: ABC
