Swedish prosecutors drop Assange sexual assault probe

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Swedish prosecutors said on Thursday they had dropped a sexual assault probe against Julian Assange because the time limit on the case had expired.

Some of the allegations against the WikiLeaks founder — who has been holed up at Ecuador’s London embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition — have reached their statute of limitations after five years.

“Now that the statute of limitations has expired on certain offenses, I am obliged to drop part of the investigation,” prosecutor Marianne Ny said, adding she still wanted to question the Australian on a more serious rape claim.