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Asia Argento Will Halt Payments to Accuser Jimmy Bennett

Her lawyer said Argento "does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct" and believes that Bennett's voice should be heard as a part of the #MeToo movement

Asia Argento will not pay the remaining $130,000 to her accuser Jimmy Bennett, according to her attorney Mark Jay Heller.

Heller said in his statement obtained by E! News, "Asia will not permit any portion of the balance of the $380,000 payment to be paid to Bennett."

In August, a New York Times article reported that Italian actress Argento agreed to pay Bennett the sum of money after he accused her of sexual battery stemming from an alleged incident that occurred in May 2013. Bennett claims the two of them met in a Marina Del Rey, California, hotel room where she performed oral sex and then the two allegedly had intercourse. At the time of the allegations, Bennett was 17 and Argento 37. The age of consent in California is 18.

In her statement "strongly" denying the allegations, Argento said that her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain stepped in to pay Bennett the amount he was requesting. Before the time of his death in June, Bennett had already received $250,000 from the "Parts Unknown" host.

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In her initial statement, Argento said Bennett "requested an exorbitant amount of money from me." She continued, "Bennett knew my boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, was a man of great perceived wealth and had his own reputation as a beloved public figure to protect."

According to her comments, the chef "insisted the matter be handled privately ... Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life."

Heller said Argento "does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct" and believes that Bennett's voice should be heard as a part of the #MeToo movement.

In the memo, Heller introduces something called "'Phase Two' of the #MeToo movement."

It states, "A victim who has some negative history should have the courage to come forward and say 'me too, I was a victim of sexual assault' and whatever might color my past does not negate the truth of what happened to me."

Heller's statement notes that "Bennett was alleged to have been charged in 2014 at the Los Angeles Police Department" with violations including "unlawful sex with a minor" and "stalking."

Therefore, in accordance with "Phase Two," Heller says this "should not preclude Bennett from making allegations against her, any more than Asia's allegations against Harvey Weinstein should not be made."

He continues, "Asia believes that in Phase Two of the #metoo movement, everyone should come forward, tell their story regardless of their past."

E! News has reached out to Bennett's attorney for comment.

Days after the Times article was published, Bennett spoke out about the alleged incident and why he waited so long to bring it forward into the public eye. "I was underage when the event took place, and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense to me at the time because I was not ready to deal with the ramifications of my story becoming public," he said.

He wrote in his statement, "I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative."

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