Harvey Weinstein and Fabrizio Lombardo on the sixty fourth Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2007 in Venice, Italy.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

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Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Harvey Weinstein and Fabrizio Lombardo on the sixty fourth Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2007 in Venice, Italy.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

In New York State Supreme Court on Thursday, a former mannequin filed a lawsuit alleging that she was raped by Fabrizio Lombardo, a onetime affiliate of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The swimsuit additionally named Weinstein, Disney, and Miramax as defendants, saying they “were negligent or recklessly indifferent to the harm that Lombardo inflicted.”

The swimsuit was filed by Sara Ziff, who based Model Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group for staff within the trend business. She alleges that in 2001, when she was 19, she was raped by Lombardo after a movie screening. “Mr. Lombardo invited Ms. Ziff to go to a nearby hotel with him on the pretense that they would be joined by Harvey Weinstein and another young woman who attended the screening,” the swimsuit contends, noting that Ziff thought it might be a enterprise alternative as a mannequin and aspiring actress.

The lawsuit says that as a substitute it was “a trap set by Mr. Lombardo to get Ms. Ziff alone and rape her.”

At the time, Lombardo was an govt with Miramax, the movie studio co-founded by Weinstein. The former film mogul is presently serving 39 years in jail for sex crimes in New York and California. NPR has reached out to Lombardo’s representatives, however has not been capable of get any remark.

According to The New York Times, Ziff filed a police report in 2017, however no costs had been filed. NPR hasn’t been capable of independently confirm what the police report alleged. She advised the Times she had been hesitant to come back ahead prior to now. “I couldn’t even talk to anyone about it for the first few years, let alone imagine taking legal action,” mentioned Ziff, now 40 years outdated.

Ziff says she reconsidered when the Adult Survivor’s Act passed final 12 months. The laws prolonged the time grownup intercourse crime victims can deliver civil claims that may in any other case have expired below the statute of limitations.

Weinstein as soon as credited Lombardo with saving his life and reportedly served as finest man at Lombardo’s 2003 marriage ceremony. Lombardo was head of Miramax Italy.

In 2018, Lombardo was named in a sexual harassment class action lawsuit towards the Weinstein firm and others, which claimed that Lombardo enabled Weinstein’s abuse by serving to to “procure and deceive potential victims.” Lombardo by no means appeared in courtroom and the swimsuit was later settled. He hasn’t responded to this newest allegation.

This week’s lawsuit additionally names Weinstein, Disney, and its subsidiaries Buena Vista, and Miramax. Disney didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, however Weinstein’s lawyer Imran H. Ansari mentioned in a press release to NPR, “Certainly Mr. Weinstein had no control over any alleged conduct by Mr. Lombardo, nor would he have any reason to know what Mr. Lombardo was doing nor where Mr. Lombardo was at the time that Ms. Ziff alleges she was raped. As such, Mr. Weinstein firmly denies that he has any liability for the alleged conduct of another.”

Over the years, Ziff has labored on legislation to cease sexual harassment and abuse within the trend business. Her group has additionally launched an industry-specific support line for individuals who’ve skilled sexual harassment and assault.