Now LA Cops Are Investigating Asia Argento

Police want to talk to Jimmy Bennett after he said he had sex with the Italian actress when he was 17
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 21, 2018 8:55 AM CDT
LA Cops Dive Into Asia Argento Sex Assault Allegations
In this May 17, 2009, file photo, Italian actress Asia Argento arrives on the red carpet for the screening of "Vengeance" at the Cannes Film Festival in France.   (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Authorities said Monday they're now looking into sexual assault allegations against Italian actress Asia Argento—one of the most prominent activists of the #MeToo movement. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Darren Harris said investigators want to talk to Jimmy Bennett or his representatives about the alleged incident at a Southern California hotel in 2013, when Bennett was 17, the AP reports. The move is an about-face, as TMZ reports that police initially declined to open a criminal investigation after a New York Times story that the 42-year-old settled a legal notice of intent to sue filed by Bennett, who's now 22, for $380,000. That was shortly after she said last October that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her.

Bennett says in the notice that he had sex with Argento at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif., in 2013. The age of consent in California is 18, per the Times. Investigators have learned no police report was filed at the time, Harris said. In a statement to the AP on Monday, a lawyer for Bennett said the actor "does not wish to comment on the documents or the events" at this time, noting Bennett would take "the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his response." Representatives for Argento didn't respond to a request from the AP for comment. (More Asia Argento stories.)

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