Asia Argento Accuser Has Also Been Hit By Sexual Misconduct Claim

Actor Jimmy Bennett made headlines when he accused actress and director Asia Argento of sexual misconduct. Argento, who was one of the leading voices of the #MeToo movement, said that Anthony Bourdain paid off a then-minor Bennett to keep him quiet about an alleged sexual assault in 2013. Argento has since lost her job on Italy’s X Factor, and CNN pulled the episodes that featured her with Bourdain in his series Parts Unknown. But now, The Daily Beast reports that Bennett himself has been accused of sexual misconduct with an underage girl in the past.

In 2015, Bennett’s ex-girlfriend petitioned for a temporary restraining order, accusing him of stalking and threatening her. The following month, the petition was dismissed after she failed to appear in court for a hearing on her allegations. In her request, Bennet’s ex wrote that she had previously gone to the Los Angeles Police Department to press charges against Bennett for unlawful sex with a minor, stalking and child pornography, reports The Daily Beast.

“When I was 17 and Jimmy was 18, he talked me into having sex with him. I had never had sex before,” she wrote by hand in the complaint. “He continued to talk his way into my life and manipulate me into doing things like smoke. His constant attempts at calling and texting with things like ‘please talk to me, I need help’ etc. caused me to answer in the past. One time he told me that he was being abused by his parents and needed a place to stay. He was 17 at the time.”