The former boyfriend of a Real Housewives of New York star has been accused of raping a woman on the beach in the Hamptons in 2001.
Garth Wakeford, a South African personal trainer, dated reality TV star Luann de Lesseps from August 2020 to April 2021.
Wakeford is now accused, in a suit filed last week, of raping an intoxicated Sarah Maslin Nir in 2001, when she was 18 and he was 31.
Wakeford at the time was working as a bouncer in a Hamptons nightclub.
Maslin Nir is now a breaking news journalist at The New York Times, and filed her suit under New York's year-long Adult Survivors Act, which allowed people to bring cases which would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.
Other high-profile men to be hit with lawsuits last week accusing them of sexual assault include Eric Adams, Diddy, Axl Rose and Jamie Foxx.
Maslin Nir claims, in documents obtained by The New York Post, that she was attacked by Wakeford after visiting the bar where he worked. She is suing for alleged battery and false imprisonment.
Garth Wakeford, a South African personal trainer (left), is accused of raping Sarah Maslin Nir (right) in 2001, when he was 31 and she was 18. He denies the allegations
Luann de Lesseps, a reality show star with Real Housewives of New York, dated Wakeford for eight months from August 2020
Maslin Nir had just graduated from high school when she and her friends went to Stephen Talkhouse, a popular music venue in Amagansett which remains open.
Maslin Nir said that Wakeford, who worked there, knew the group were underage but 'allowed them to enter the venue without showing identification'.
She claims he 'instructed the bartender to serve Nir numerous drinks 'on him.''
Nir said that Wakeford offered to drive her home to her parents' house, which was only a few miles away, after his shift and she accepted because she thought he was 'safe'.
She said she was 'extremely and visibly intoxicated', and that Wakeford, instead of driving her home, took her to the beach at the end of Springs Fireplace Road in East Hampton.
Nir said she was so drunk she was not able to 'physically get out of the car or walk on her own' - so the 6ft 5 personal trainer carried her 'as she lost consciousness.'
Maslin Nir claims in a new suit that Wakeford raped her when she was 18, and 'extremely intoxicated'
She awoke on the beach with her underpants around her ankles, and 'Wakeford was on top of her, penetrating her with his penis.'
She claims in the suit: 'She struggled to break free from Wakeford, repeating 'no' and 'stop'.
'But Wakeford pinned her to the ground and told her to 'wait, I'm almost finished.'
'Nir somehow managed to raise her knees and pushed Wakeford out of her body.
'As she did so, Wakeford ejaculated in her face, leaving her eyes red and burning.'
Nir did not report the incident at the time, but crossed paths with Wakeford a year later and confronted him, insisting she 'wasn't there' on the beach. She says he agreed with her assessment.
He said, according to her claim, it was the worst thing he had ever done to someone.
Nir said she told therapists, friends and family over the years about the purported incident and in 2017 went to East Hampton police, but backed off filing a report once she realized the officer knew Wakeford.
In 2019 she returned to the police, who investigated but failed to bring charges.
She said in her suit she has endured 'lasting trauma' and suffers from 'extreme emotional distress,' having difficulty 'forming relationships' and with 'physical intimacy.'
She said she sometimes has panic attacks and vomits both leading up to and during sexual intimacy and intercourse.
Maslin Nir is seen in March 2016 at the Young Fellows Ball at the Frick Museum in New York City
Wakeford is pictured in August 2017 at a party in East Hampton
Roberta Kaplan, her lawyer, told The New York Post: 'New York's Adult Survivors Act (or 'ASA') was passed a little more than a year ago so that people who have been the victim of a sexual assault that occurred long ago, at a time when societal attitudes were far different, could have a real chance to finally seek and obtain justice.
'That's exactly what the case that we filed for Ms Maslin Nir last week is all about. We are so honored to be representing her.'
A spokesman for Wakeford said her claims were 'baseless' and he looked forward to clearing his name.
'These claims are meritless and without basis,' the spokesman said.
'In point of fact, Ms Nir's own brother and sister-in-law employed Mr Wakeford as a trainer for eight years after the alleged assault.
'Mr Wakeford looks forward to establishing the facts around their consensual relationship in the course of this unfounded litigation, which is predicated on lies.'
