US: Private Messages Reveal Asia Argento Had Sex With Underaged Actor

A series of private messages have revealed, Asia Argento, an Italian actress and one of the first women to come forward in the #MeToo movement had sex with a former teenage actor, Jimmy Bennett, in 2013. This comes despite her public statement yesterday denying ever having sex with Bennet after a photo of the two posing shirtless in bed in a Marina del Rey, California hotel room surfaced.

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"I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett," Argento said in a public statement Tuesday.

However, text messages between the Hollywood actress and a friend reveal Argento's admission to having sex with Bennet. At the time she was 37 years old, and the teenage actor was 17.

Bennet claims that Argento had sex with him when he was under the age of consent, according to California law, and accuses the actress of sexual assault.

The two met on the movie set of The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. Argento had cast Bennet, just seven-years-old at the time, to play her son in the film.

Bennet, now 22-years-old, threatened legal action against Argento in April. She settled with him out of court for $380,000.

A series of four photos show the two lying in bed with their arms entangled. The images, according to sources that spoke to various media outlets were taken after they had intercourse. It's illegal for an adult to have sex with someone under 18 in California.

Argento, who accused Hollywood mogul movie producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, quickly became the figurehead of the campaign against sexual harassment in the industry.