Chris D'Elia Sued by Jane Doe Accusing Comedian of Soliciting Child Pornography When She Was 17
Charley Gallay/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Chris D'Elia
Chris D'Elia has been accused of soliciting child pornography from a teenage girl in a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday. In response, D'Elia's attorney tells PEOPLE, "Chris denies these allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court."
The lawsuit, obtained by PEOPLE, marks the latest accusation against the 40-year-old comedian, who was accused of sexual misconduct and pursuing underage girls by multiple women last year. The lawsuit is being brought by a woman who is choosing to go by Jane Doe for privacy.
D'Elia "constructed a manipulative, controlling, and abusive dynamic in which he demanded Ms. Doe provide him sexually explicit images of herself over the internet, directed her what specific sexual poses and acts she should perform for him, and psychologically punished her when she refused," the lawsuit says.
RELATED: Chris D'Elia Speaks Out After Months of Silence Following Accusations of Sexual Misconduct
Doe, now 24, was 17 years old during the events alleged in the lawsuit, which she says began in September 2014 when she was still in high school.
After Doe had sent D'Elia a direct message on Instagram as a "joke," not expecting him to respond, the comedian responded "right away" and his "messages to Ms. Doe became sexual very quickly," the lawsuit says.
"The same night they first started exchanging messages, Defendant D'Elia asked Ms. Doe to send him nude pictures of herself," the lawsuit says. She claims she eventually complied and sent between five and 10 "sexually explicit photos and videos of herself before she met him in person."
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On Nov. 7, 2014, Doe attended D'Elia's show in Mashantucket, Connecticut, according to the suit. D'Elia allegedly invited her to his hotel room before the show and "grabbed Ms. Doe's hand, put it on his already erect penis, and started moving her hand to pleasure himself," two to three minutes after she arrived.
He proceeded to tell her to give him oral sex, undress and have sex with her within 10 minutes of her arrival, the lawsuit says. Doe returned to his hotel room after the show and they allegedly had sex.
Over the next six or seven months, D'Elia allegedly solicited "more than 100 sexually explicit photos and videos" from Doe, "approximately half" of which were exchanged when she was a minor, according to the lawsuit.
He also allegedly asked her "several times to make and send pornographic videos to him of herself having sex with boys her age."
The lawsuit claims that D'Elia would tell Doe how she ranked in comparison to other girls he was seeing and would "respond to her with degrading comments" if she did not do what he told her.
Doe turned 18 in Jan. 2015 and stopped sending D'Elia explicit messages that May, when she got into a relationship with a peer, the lawsuit says. Communication allegedly continued on and off until 2017.
RELATED: Comedian Chris D'Elia Accused of Sexually Pursuing and 'Grooming' Underage Girls Online
In the Netflix series You, D'Elia plays a comedian who preys on underage girls. After watching the show, Doe "sent him a final email expressing that she had been too young for what he had done to her and that she would never be in touch with him again," the lawsuit says.
Doe is seeking "compensatory, liquidated, and punitive damages" and is demanding a trial by jury.
In February, D'Elia released a YouTube video breaking his silence since the allegations against him last year. In the video, he maintained that all of his relationships "have been consensual and legal," but admitted to having an unhealthy relationship with sex.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
