Horace Mann alum accused of turning actress into sex slave
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 4:07 PM
Giulio Marcocchi/Getty ImagesNeil Meyer, Laura Meyer and Halle Berry attend the “Shane’s Inspiration’s 3rd Annual Gala” on March 21, 2004 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Beverly Hills. Meyer, a Horace Mann alum who graduated in 1979, is accused of having a sex slave.
A steamy new lawsuit claims Halle Berry’s prominent Hollywood lawyer turned one of his fledgling actress clients into a “virtual sex slave” — but the lawyer insists the sordid tale is a shakedown.
The accuser, identified as Jane Doe in her filing, claims lawyer Neil Ettin Meyer used his position of power over her career to force her to meet his kinky demands.
“Meyer preyed upon (her) weakness and made her his virtual sex slave from on or about late 2009 through December 2013,” the lawsuit states.
She claims Meyer, a graduate of the scandal-scarred Riverdale prep school Horace Mann, sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions in 2010 — including one time at the St. Regis hotel in New York.
Charley Gallay/Getty ImagesActress Emma Roberts, attorney Neil Meyer, and actress Halle Berry attend the have fun for Laura Meyer and Robyn Roth’s new book “Remodel This! A Woman’s Guide to Plotting and Surviving the Madness of a Home Renovation” at Miauhaus Studios. Meyer, a Horace Mann alum who graduated in 1979, is accused of having a sex slave.
“If plaintiff would weep or not manifest pleasure during sexual relations, Meyer would become sexually violent, often physically injuring the plaintiff,” the complaint obtained by the Day after day News states.
“Meyer mandatory plaintiff to accede to sexual acts that plaintiff found repulsive, humiliating, dehumanizing, painful and physically and mentally injurious,” said the lawsuit, which also listed Meyer’s law firm, Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder LLP, in the complaint.
Meyer claims the woman is lying to get some undeserved hush money.
Charley Gallay/Getty ImagesAttorney Neil Meyer, actress Nicollette Sheridan, and author Laura Meyer pose at the have fun in 2007. Meyer, a Horace Mann alum who graduated in 1979, is accused of having a sex slave.
“The salacious allegations of the complaint are little more than an attempt to extort a agreement payment, which will never take place. This is not a ‘case,’ it is a sham, and it will be dismissed,” Meyer’s lawyer Mark Baute told The News.
“Jane Doe’s allegations have been rejected by the state bar twice. In addition, my client obtained a TRO (temporary restraining order) against Jane Doe due to her erratic behavior,” he said.
Court records show Meyer filed a restraining order in March against a Chinese-American actress born in New York, who has appeared several hit TV shows. The Day after day News is withholding the woman’s name.
James Keivom/New York Day after day NewsHorace Mann School in Bronx, N.Y.
The restraining order was dismissed two months later due to lack of prosecution.
In the lawsuit filed Friday, Meyer’s accuser questioned for unspecified hurts for emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty and sexual harassment.
The lawyers who filed the claim declined to note when reached by The News.
FRED PROUSER/REUTERSActress Nicollette Sheridan, star of the ABC series “Desperate Housewives,” is among attorney Neil Meyer’s celebrity clients.
Records show Meyer graduated from Horace Mann in 1979 before attending law school in Los Angeles and picking up A-list clients including Berry, “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan and “Captain America” star Chris Evans.
The elite Bronx the high classes has been embroiled in a tawdry sex scandal since 2012, after a student came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by a teacher. Another 30 or so students came forward with similar claims, alleging a pattern of sexual abuse among a group of teachers, primarily in the 1960s and ‘70s.
Victims have accused school administrators of hushing up complaints to protect Horace Mann’s reputation — a charge the school refutes.
Horace Mann is estimated to have paid out nearly $ 5 million in legal settlements to former students who say they were sexually abused over decades at the expensive private school. It also just settled a New Jersey lawsuit brought by a former student who claimed he was molested by a celebrated Horace Mann composition teacher near his Backyard State home.
The other victims, who said their abuse was in New York, couldn’t sue because of the state’s strict statute of limitations.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
