Italian actress Asia Argento, one of the most prominent activists of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, recently settled a complaint filed against her by a young actor and musician who said she sexually assaulted him when he was 17, the New York Times has reported.
Argento, 42, settled the notice of intent to sue filed by the actor, who is now 22, for 380,000 US dollars shortly after she said last October that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Times reported.
Argento and the actor have previously worked together and the complainant said in the notice that he had sex with Argento in a California hotel in 2013.
The age of consent in California is 18.
He claims the encounter traumatised him and hurt his career, the Times reported.
The newspaper said it received court documents that included a selfie of Argento and the actor in bed.
Three people familiar with the case said the documents were authentic, the Times reported.
Argento became one of the most well-known activists of the #MeToo movement after she told the New Yorker magazine that Weinstein raped her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 when she was 21.
Argento told the magazine that she continued to have a relationship with Weinstein because she was afraid of angering him.
Weinstein has been indicted on sex crime accusations involving three women, but not including Argento.
Representatives for Argento could not be immediately reached.
The complainant declined to comment to the Times.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it is aware of the reports, adding: “To date, the LASD has not located any police report alleging criminal activity within our jurisdiction in relation to this incident.
“After becoming aware of the allegations, the LASD’s Special Victims Bureau is attempting to reach out to the reported victim and/or his representatives in an effort to appropriately document any potential criminal allegations.”
