Model accuses former Harvey Weinstein associate of rape in lawsuit | Abroad

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in New York State Court by Sara Ziff, who says the alleged sexual assault by Fabrizio Lombardo, the former head of Miramax in Italy, took place in 2001 when she was 19 years old.

Ziff says she was a budding actress at the time and had attended a private movie screening in New York with Lombardo, who was in her 40s at the time. She claims the assault happened afterwards at a hotel where she was told she would meet with Weinstein to discuss her career.

At the time, Miramax was owned by Walt Disney Co, which sold the film studio to an investment group in 2010. The lawsuit names Weinstein, Miramax and therefore Disney as defendants, stating that they knew Lombardo was a “danger to women he encountered at work” but did nothing to prevent him from victimizing her.

Disney, Miramax and a lawyer for Weinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment today. Lombardo was not immediately available for comment, according to Reuters news agency.

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Allegations that Weinstein sexually assaulted models and actresses helped spark the #MeToo movement that began in 2017. He has been convicted of sex crimes in New York and California and received a combined sentence of 39 years in prison. According to Ziff’s lawsuit, Lombardo and Weinstein were “very close” and Weinstein was best man at Lombardo’s 2003 wedding.

Ziff accuses Lombardo of sexual assault and gender-based violence, and accuses Weinstein and the companies of negligent oversight. She is claiming unspecified compensation for lost income, psychological distress and emotional distress.