A lady from New Zealand has filed three civil lawsuits accusing best-selling British creator Neil Gaiman of repeatedly sexually assaulting her whereas she was working as his household’s babysitter and nanny.
Scarlett Pavlovich filed the lawsuits — one towards Gaiman and his spouse, Amanda Palmer, and two extra towards Palmer — in federal court docket in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York on Monday.
The Related Press doesn’t determine individuals who say they’ve been sexually assaulted except they publicly determine themselves. Pavlovich recognized herself in an interview with New York Journal, which revealed an article in January detailing allegations of assault, abuse and coercion levelled by eight girls.
Pavlovich alleges within the lawsuits that she was homeless and dwelling on a seashore when she met Palmer in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2020. Pavlovich was 22 years outdated on the time.
Based on the lawsuits, Palmer invited Pavlovich to the couple’s residence on Waiheke Island. Pavlovich started operating errands for the couple, babysitting their son and serving to with chores, ultimately turning into the couple’s nanny.
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Gaiman first sexually assaulted her the evening they met in February 2022, in response to the lawsuits. The assaults continued however she stored working for the couple as a result of she was broke and homeless and Gaiman had instructed her he would assist her writing profession, in response to the lawsuits.
When she instructed Palmer in regards to the assaults, Palmer instructed her that greater than a dozen girls had instructed her previously that Gaiman had sexually abused them, in response to the lawsuits.
The assaults didn’t cease till Pavlovich instructed Palmer she was going to kill herself, the lawsuits mentioned. She left the household and have become homeless once more, though the paperwork say Gaiman ultimately paid her for her work caring for the couple’s little one and helped cowl her hire for a couple of months.
Palmer knew of Gaiman’s sexual wishes and introduced Pavalovich to him figuring out he would assault her, in accordance the lawsuits. Pavlovich alleges Gaiman and Palmer violated federal human trafficking prohibitions and seeks at the least $7 million in damages.
After the New York Journal article was revealed, Gaiman launched a press release in January denying he had ever engaged in non-consensual intercourse. The allegations of 4 of the ladies have been beforehand broadcast in July in a Tortoise Media podcast.
“I’m removed from an ideal individual, however I’ve by no means engaged in non-consensual sexual exercise with anybody. Ever,” Gaiman posted on the social media platform Tumblr.
Representatives for Gaiman and Palmer didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark Monday and on-line court docket data didn’t record attorneys representing them within the fits. Pavlovich’s attorneys said within the filings that Gaiman, creator of such bestsellers as Coraline and The Sandman sequence, is a resident of Menomonie, Wisconsin. However they’re uncertain if Palmer resides in Massachusetts or New York.
Pavlovich instructed New York Journal that she filed a police report in January 2023 accusing Gaiman of sexual assault. Police haven’t confirmed whether or not Gaiman was ever beneath investigation.
Gaiman has labored with quite a few publishers over time. Two of them, HarperCollins and W.W. Norton, have mentioned they don’t have any plans to launch his books sooner or later. Others, together with Bloomsbury, have up to now declined remark.
Darkish Horse Comics introduced in January that it might not launch its illustrated sequence primarily based on Gaiman’s novel, Anansi Boys. The seventh of eight editions was launched earlier that month.
Disney has paused a deliberate adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard E-book, whereas Netflix remains to be scheduled to launch a second season primarily based on The Sandman.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
