A woman who alleges disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she was 16 filed suit against him on Thursday and rejected a settlement reached by other accusers.
Kaja Sokola said the $25 million settlement with dozens of women, designed to resolve almost every misconduct lawsuit brought against Weinstein, is neither fair nor just.
“Therefore, today I am filing my own case, in my own name,” Sokola, 33, said in a statement issued through her lawyer.
Sokola, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in Poland, said she originally included her case under a pseudonym as part of a 2018 class action suit against Weinstein, his companies and associates.
But after last week’s announcement that his lawyers had reached the settlement with other alleged victims she decided to file suit in New York under her own name.
Sokola said she moved to New York at 16 to work as a model and try to achieve her dream of becoming an actress.
Her 23-page claim said she was introduced to Weinstein in September 2002. He invited her to dinner, allegedly leading her to believe that he wanted to help her career.
Instead of taking her to a restaurant, he brought Sokola to his residence where he “sexually abused” her, according to the allegations.
Although the accusations date from 17 years ago, a New York law which took effect in August opened a one-year window for child sex abuse victims of any age to file a civil case, no matter how long ago it took place.
Sokola is claiming unspecified damages.
