Adult director Tony T has been notified that the Los Angeles County District Attorney has rejected the filing of charges against him for any alleged battery or sexual assault that adult performer Nikki Benz claimed occurred on set in December 2016. The D.A. cites “insufficient evidence” that a crime was committed.
READ: Director says video evidence will exonerate him on abuse claims made by Nikki Benz
According to sources close to the investigation, police detectives interviewed Tony T twice last year. He also provided a hard drive containing all the video footage of the Nikki Benz / Ramon Nomar scene as well as the Nikki Benz / Darcie Dolce scene.
A weak case
This development means that the District Attorney felt they would be unable to convince a jury that a crime had been committed. It will also likely mean a tougher road ahead for Benz in the civil case filed in April on Benz’s behalf in L.A. County Superior Court by attorney Daniel Gilleon.
Gilleon, readers may recall, is the attorney for male talent Moe the Monster, whose own claims were dealt a severe blow this week by the public statements of fellow performer and scene partner Nat Turnher, who would not back the claims made by Moe regarding a Dogfart shoot in June 2017.
Nikki Benz is an ex Penthouse Pet of the Year, AVN Hall of Fame performer and former Brazzers “brand ambassador’. In December 2016, via Twitter, she accused Tony T of causing her to be “traumatized” from alleged misconduct on a shoot.
At the time, Tony T issued the following statement about the shoot in question:
After a review of the unedited raw footage, still photos, witness statements, and other available information, we believe that the best approach to this issue is transparency. While the scene in question was “hardcore” with toys, masks, and aggressive sexual content, it was not the sensationalized version of criminal or offensive behavior that is being portrayed in the media. We are in the process of releasing the raw footage to journalists so that the unedited evidence can be examined.
Every worker in the adult film industry, performer or set worker, should feel empowered and confident to stop any scene or any activity that is non-consensual, uncomfortable, or assaultive. As an industry, we must be ever vigilant to maintain the highest standards of professionalism. The death threats to crew members and the performer, via text, phone and social media should stop. The events on the set were not what has been portrayed on social media.
4 Responses
Hopefully she will win in the civil suit.
Almost sure she won’t. If the DA would not go forward with it she has little chance in civil court unless she finds a stupid jury.