A New York Times journalist, Sarah Maslin Nir, has filed a lawsuit alleging that a personal trainer once linked to a Real Housewives of New York star raped her in 2001 when she was 18, and he was working as a bouncer.
In the lawsuit, Nir says she was out with friends at a bar in Amagansett, N.Y., in the Hamptons, where Garth Wakeford, then 31, allegedly worked. Nir alleges Wakeford knew that she and her friends were under 21, but let them into the bar and told the bartender to serve her drinks "on him."
At the end of the night, the complaint alleges, Wakeford offered to drive an intoxicated Nir to her parents' home, but instead took her to a beach trail as she lost consciousness.
When Nir regained consciousness, she alleges, she noticed her underwear was around her ankles before realizing he was sexually assaulting her as she repeatedly told him "stop" and "no," according to the complaint.
Nir was profiled by PEOPLE in 2020 about her book Horse Crazy, about her love of horses and how they have helped her cope with her trauma.
For years, Nir previously said, she blamed herself for the alleged rape and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in her 20s.
Nir's lawsuit was one of thousands filed before the New York Adult Survivors Act which expired last week. The law allowed adult survivors to file lawsuits up to a year after the statute of limitations expired.
A spokesperson for Wakeford denies the allegations and says he looks forward to establishing the facts in court.
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