Taryn Manning Denies Any Wrongdoing Against Her Accused Stalker After Arrest

Get the scoop on the Orange Is the New Black star

By Brett Malec Nov 19, 2014 8:08 PMTags
Taryn Manning Mark Davis/Getty Images

And the legal drama between Taryn Manning and her accused stalker Jeanine Heller continues.

Back in September, Heller was arrested for violating a protection order when she called and emailed the Orange Is the New Black star. And now, Manning has been arrested for allegedly doing almost the exact same thing.

The NYPD confirms to E! News that the 36-year-old actress was arrested yesterday at 3 p.m. in Manhattan. Manning was charged with criminal contempt in the second degree. According to TMZ, prior to Manning's arrest, she had been sending Heller allegedly threatening texts in violation of another restraining order that was put in place to protect Heller. Despite the arrest, the Manhattan District Attorney confirms to E! News that they declined to prosecute Manning.

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As for the allegations that Manning contacted Heller, Manning's lawyer Stacey Richman tells E! News in a statement, "In response to a reported arrest of Ms. Manning, please note that the District Attorney's Office investigated an allegation of a violation of an order of protection. The District Attorney declined to prosecute Ms. Manning and the arrest was voided. The allegation was false. It is unfortunate that additional false allegations by an individual convicted of violating orders of protection intended to protect Ms. Manning are facilitated by purported news organizations to perpetuate the harassment of Ms. Manning exponentially."

Richman adds, "Ms. Manning is a law-abiding person who has respect for the law and the privilege of her profession. The fact that there are no criminal charges against Ms. Manning with regard to the purported allegations against her is a clear demonstration of her innocence. Ms. Manning will as always maintain the high road. She wishes no contact from Ms. Heller and has had to spend great sums to hire security for her protection."

Conversely, Heller's attorney Jeremy Saland tells E! News, "There should never be a correlation between celebrity and credibility. Ms. Manning should not be given a pass in the face of potential and significant criminal conduct. Hollywood should be held to the same standard as Main Street. It is our expectation that the District Attorney's Office will take the same steps investigating these very serious and frightening allegations against Ms. Manning as they did when Ms. Manning made claims against Ms. Heller.

"Although the District Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute the case right now, their investigation is not over and the case will continue. In fact, nothing prevents prosecutors from reviving the case and re-arresting Ms. Manning at a later date after subpoenaed materials are reviewed. This type of determination to not prosecute a case is not atypical when evidence must still be collected even in violent crimes. Simply, the NYPD had probable cause to make an arrest and the District Attorney's Office is investigating."

Manning also took to Twitter today to deny any wrongdoing. "There are no charges against me This is just further harassment. It is troubling that the system can be used to abuse the actual victim," she wrote, followed by, "For a phone call and a lot of time on your hands, you too can get a news media outlet to post totally incorrect information! #sarcastictweet."