Neil Gaiman was hit with even more serious sexual assault allegations on Monday, with new charges accusing him of rape and human trafficking by his former nanny, who is suing him for $1 million.
The Plaintiff, Scarlett Pavlovich, says in the complaint filed in federal court today in Wisconsin that Gaiman’s estranged wife Amanda Palmer had a role in “procuring and presenting Plaintiff to Gaiman for such abuse” and that Gaiman’s abuse included physical harm to the point where she became suicidal.
The paperwork states that “Gaiman has a decades-long history of sexual misconduct” which “includes sexual contact with multiple women who have not
consented to his actions.” So far, the fantasy author has been accused of sexual misconduct by nine different women.
The suit further states that Gaiman has paid off several women he allegedly victimized “in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and that Palmer knew about the author’s “history of sexual misconduct” since 2015.
Pavlovich detailed the first alleged assault, which occurred when she was hired as a babysitter for Gaiman and Palmer’s son. When she arrived at the house, however, the child was not there and Gaiman gave her a tour of the house, demanding that she take a bath in the garden tub. He later joined her, naked, assaulting her against her will. Afterward, Pavlovich wrote, he called her “a good little girl” and instructed her to call him “Master.”
“The Defendants knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, and/or obtained Scarlett for labor or services while knowing she would be forced to engage in sexual acts as a condition of receiving the pay and housing they promised her,” the suit states. Pavlovich “endured those acts because she would lose her job, housing, and promised future career support if she did not.”
Since the first allegations came out, the Netflix series “The Sandman” has been canceled and a planned third season of “Good Omens,” which is also based on Gaiman’s writings, has been significantly shortened. He was also dropped by his publisher, Dark Horse Comics.
Gaiman has refuted the charges, saying in July, “I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity.”
New York Magazine first reported this story.
