Police in New York, Los Angeles, and London are currently investigating allegations against Harvey Weinstein, from sexual assault to rape. And today, the producer's legal woes intensified when he was hit with a lawsuit alleging that he violated sex trafficking laws, Deadline reports.
The lawsuit was filed by Kadian Noble, who says that Weinstein sexually assaulted her during the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 when she was an aspiring actress, according to The Guardian. Noble's account of being lured to Weinstein's hotel room under the guise of advancing her career closely mirrors the allegations of the producer's other accusers.
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The 11-page complaint, which was obtained by Deadline and can be viewed here, also names Bob Weinstein and The Weinstein Company as defendants in the lawsuit.
Noble alleges that, while she was in Weinstein's hotel room, she was put on the phone with an unnamed producer from The Weinstein Company. The producer allegedly told her that if she was "a good girl and [did] whatever [Weinstein] wished" they "would work with her" in the future.
The lawsuit also states that Weinstein's brother Bob "facilitated commercial sex acts in foreign commerce." By filing a sex trafficking lawsuit rather than a sexual assault one, the statute of limitations is extended to ten years, BuzzFeed explains. This means Weinstein could still face criminal charges in connection with Noble's allegation.
"The federal trafficking sex trafficking lawsuit is a very promising and novel legal theory because, at the end of the day, it may be a way to get around a statute of limitations that currently might bar a lot of lawsuits against Weinstein," attorney Manny Medrano told BuzzFeed News.
According to Variety, Noble is being represented by Jeffrey Herman, who is also the lawyer for actress-model Dominique Huett. Last month, Huett filed a $5 million civil suit against The Weinstein Company alleging that Weinstein sexually assaulted her and the company knowingly covered up his behavior.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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