XPost: soc.retirement, sac.general, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: alt.rush-limbaugh   
   From: woppers@latimes.com   
      
   The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Monday that   
   detectives are reaching out to a young actor and his attorney   
   after the New York Times reported actress and director Asia   
   Argento recently paid him in connection with an alleged sexual   
   encounter in a Marina del Rey hotel room when he was 17.   
      
   Sheriff’s Capt. Darren Harris said the department had not   
   received a report on the alleged incident but was pursuing the   
   matter by trying to interview the parties involved.   
      
   The New York Times said Argento, 42, settled a notice of intent   
   to sue from Jimmy Bennett, who in 2004 played her son in a film,   
   for $380,000 in the months after she publicly accused Hollywood   
   producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her. In   
   California, the age of consent is 18. Bennett is now 22.   
      
   A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to the Los Angeles   
   Times that there was a negotiated settlement with Bennett after   
   he leveled the claims against her last year.   
      
   Two lawyers who represent Argento have not returned phone calls   
   or emails seeking comment.   
      
   According to the New York Times, the allegation of a sexual   
   assault and the payment agreement that followed are laid out in   
   documents between lawyers for Argento and Bennett that the   
   newspaper received through encrypted email from an unknown   
   source. The New York Times report did not state that Argento   
   admitted any wrongdoing. The newspaper cited three unnamed   
   sources as confirming the authenticity of the documents.   
      
   On May 9, 2013, Argento and Bennett met for a reunion at the   
   Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. The pair have referred to each   
   other as mother and son on social media. Argento posted a photo   
   on that day showing her hugging Bennett, referring to him as “My   
   son my love,” and included the month and year.   
      
   The New York Times report said Bennett’s letter of intent to sue   
   laid out his account of the encounter: Bennett arrived at the   
   hotel with a family member, and Argento asked the family member   
   to leave. When they were alone, she kissed the 17-year-old,   
   removed his pants and performed oral sex, and then had sex with   
   him, the document said, according to the newspaper.   
      
   Argento became a prominent voice in the #MeToo movement after   
   telling the New Yorker that Weinstein raped her in 1997 when she   
   was 21. Weinstein faces multiple charges of sexual assault and   
   rape, but none of the charges involve Argento’s allegation.   
      
   Argento was in a relationship with celebrity chef, author and TV   
   host Anthony Bourdain, who helped her navigate the matter, the   
   New York Times reported. Bourdain killed himself in June.   
      
   Bennett’s attorney Gordon Sattro issued a statement Monday   
   addressing the allegations.   
      
   “At this time, our client, Jimmy Bennett, does not wish to   
   comment on the documents or the events discussed in the New York   
   Times article yesterday evening,” he said. “While we realize   
   that the news cycle demands an immediate response, many times,   
   people need more than a few minutes or hours to respond. We are   
   asking that you give our client some time and space. Jimmy is   
   going to take the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his   
   response. We ask that you respect our client’s privacy during   
   this time.”   
      
   Actress Rose McGowan, a leader of the #MeToo movement, said on   
   Twitter on Monday: “I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago.   
   Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey   
   Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf   
   of victims everywhere.”   
      
   McGowan was among a roster of celebrities who signed an open   
   letter that appeared in the Los Angeles Times after Bourdain’s   
   death. The letter praised Bourdain’s advocacy for victims of   
   sexual harassment and assault and also addressed Argento’s high-   
   profile role in the #MeToo movement.   
      
   “One of the most vocal and unwavering figures in the #MeToo   
   movement has been Asia Argento. At the center of our community,   
   Asia has stood, her fist in the air, fighting daily not just for   
   justice for those of us she has come to know, but for abused   
   people the world over,” the letter said.   
      
   “Asia has now found herself on the receiving end of vicious   
   cyberbullying and repulsive slander at the hands of internet   
   trolls who hold her responsible for Anthony’s death. She has   
   been accused of everything from causing her boyfriend’s suicide   
   to trying to use her ‘survivor status’ and the #MeToo movement   
   to advance her career.”   
      
   An attorney for Weinstein released a statement accusing Argento   
   of “a stunning level of hypocrisy.”   
      
      
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