As we discussed yesterday, Asia Argento now claims that Jimmy Bennett sexually assaulted her in 2013. At the time, he was 17 and she was 37. Unlike her previous claim that nothing happened, her new version is that he “jumped her” and that she was “frozen” when they had sex. She claimed that Anthony Bourdain agreed to pay off Bennett to save her reputation and cause the least amount of drama. Now that the story is out there, Argento refuses to pay the rest of the out-of-court settlement she agreed to with Bennett. And so… no surprise, Bennett is filing a sexual assault claim with the LA County Sheriff’s Department.

Asia Argento has just poked the bear, because we’ve learned Jimmy Bennett — who was 17 when he had sex with her — is going to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. to file a sexual assault claim against her and cooperate with the investigation. Bennett, who is now 22, has been on the fence as to whether he’d cooperate with authorities, but he’s now decided to go full steam ahead.

We’re told Bennett’s tipping point was the statement Argento’s lawyer released Tuesday, attacking his character. Her lawyer, Mark Heller, talked about Bennett’s “unfortunate past, stalled acting career … his desperation to seek money.” Heller also referenced that Bennett had been a drug user. Bennett’s lawyer, Gordon Sattro, tells TMZ, “the attack on my client’s character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client.”

The maximum penalty for statutory rape in California in a case involving a 17-year-old is 3 years in prison. Attorney Heller tells TMZ, “Asia encourages anybody, including Bennett, to come forward with any allegation concerning a sexual assault, and she is prepared to take any and all steps necessary to continues to protect her reputation and defend against any false allegations.”

[From TMZ]

As I have said repeatedly, I believe Jimmy Bennett. I believe his story, and I believe that he really didn’t want this to become public. I believe it took him years to understand what happened to him and that he was disturbed by Argento being hailed as a fearless victim. To be clear, I also think Argento was a victim… of Harvey Weinstein. But I also think she was a predator when it came to Jimmy Bennett. As for Bennett filing a sexual assault claim… we’ll see if anything happens. I have my doubts.

Photos courtesy of WENN.