Judge dismisses sexual assault case against former Good Morning America boss Michael Korn

Judge Barbara Jaffe ruled that the statute of limitations for the alleged 2015 attack on Good Morning America producer Kirstin Crawford had expired.

The alleged attack, which Korn has always denied, could be considered in court if Crawford claimed enough that Korn was creating a hostile work environment.

But Jaffe ruled that while some of Korn’s alleged actions were “boorish, unscrupulous and inappropriate,” he did not meet the threshold to say he had promoted a hostile work environment before the statute of limitations expired.

Meredith Cavalaro, a lawyer representing Korn, said in a statement: “We are very pleased that the Court has acknowledged the complete lack of grounds for the actions brought against Mr Korn.”

Milt Williams, a lawyer representing Crawford, said they plan to appeal the case.

ABC News has previously said it disputes some of the allegations in the case. However, a company spokesman did not comment on the termination of the case against Korn.

But Kim Godwin, president of ABC News, addressed the issue during the company’s morning editorial meeting on Thursday, according to two employees who were on the phone. Godwin reiterated to employees his commitment to instilling a healthy culture in the company, people said.

“We remain committed to changing the culture here,” Godwin said, according to one person.

Godwin began as president of ABC News after Korn had already left the company.

Korn, who now serves as news president for NewsNation, inexplicably left ABC News in early 2021, months before the lawsuit went public.

When the case went public, ABC News employees were angry, confused and demanding answers. Officials, for example, wondered what ABC News management knew when Korn mysteriously left the news outlet.

ABC News later said in a motion to dismiss the case that it fired Korn after investigating allegations of assault on him.

Correction: An earlier version of this story was misidentified when Kim Godwin was appointed president of ABC News in connection with Korn’s departure. It was the day before.