Jimmy Bennett, the actor who has accused Asia Argento of sexually assaulting him in 2013 when he was 17 years old, will be donating the money she allegedly paid him to settle the accusation to the #MeToo movement, his lawyer said Friday.
In a statement to “Good Morning America,” Bennett’s attorney Gordon K. Sattro said that Bennett will cooperate with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) to secure the funds due to him under the “legally enforceable agreement” between him and Argento.
Argento previously stated that her late boyfriend, celebrity chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain, was the person who insisted they settle the matter privately. Her attorney, Mark Jay Heller, stated earlier this week that in light of recent events, his client will not to pay Bennett the remaining balance of the $380,000 owed to him.
A representative for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says the organization has had no contact with either party in this case. There is no indication that any police report has been filed.
Earlier this week, Heller released a statement in which Argento, 42, accused Bennett of instigating the alleged incident. According to him, his client and Bennett had a “long distance friendship” that spanned years, and that during their alleged sexual encounter, “he told her that she had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12 years old.”
Sattro slammed Heller’s comments as “hypocritical” and “nonsensical.”
“We read this statement as a self-serving and slanderous one which is offensive, not only to my client, but in all likelihood to victims both silent and outspoken, everywhere,” Sattro said. “It would seem that Asia is implying that her truth is the actual truth because of her perceived position in this all-too-important movement and a delusional view of her own importance to it.”
“Asia has yet to realize that successful women can also be among those who prey on the vulnerable,” Sattro went on to say. “Predators are not limited to a single sex.”
ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.
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