Sexual Assault The Norm For Hollywood

Actress Asia Argento, one of the more prominent voices to accuse now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, was accused by child star Jimmy Bennett of setting up a sexual encounter with him in California when he was 17 – below the age of consent in that state – and she was 37.

Argento had worked with Bennett 10 years earlier on the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things” when he was 7 years old. He played the son of Argento’s character and the two reportedly remained close after the movie finished. In public social media posts over the years, they were known to refer to each other as variations of  “mom” and “son.”

[wps_products_gallery product_id=”4334003716147, 4333959544883, 4344570413107″]

The New York Times reported, citing court documents, that the actress and former girlfriend of the late Anthony Bourdain paid roughly $380,000 to Bennett after he confronted her regarding an alleged sexual encounter that took place in 2013 in a California hotel room. The legal age of consent in California is 18.

Fox News does not normally name alleged victims of sexual assaults, but in this case a basic description of the facts makes Bennett easily identifiable.

In the documents, Bennett sought to sue Argento for an alleged May 9, 2013 encounter at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif. Bennett arrived with a family member but Argento reportedly sent them away so she could be alone with him. At that time, Bennett alleges that she showed him notes she had previously written to him and gave him alcohol. She then reportedly kissed him, pushed him back on the bed, performed oral sex on him and then the two had intercourse.