Actor Nuno Lopez’s defense on Tuesday ensured that North American director’s lawyer A.M. Lucas, who accuses the Portuguese woman of raping her, has urged him to make a cash offer as a condition to avoid legal action.
The Portuguese actor’s lawyer said in a statement that on November 6 she received an email from A.M.’s lawyer. Lucas Michael J. Willemin, which reported that the North American writer-director “intended for Nuno Lopez to come.” forward with an offer of a sum of money.”
“I confirm that this was presented as a condition to prevent the filing of a claim. It was clear to everyone that the claim would be made public if Nuno Lopez did not pay compensation to Ms. Lucas, and that publicity would be given to it.” as it was,” emphasized Rute Oliveira Serodio.
In statements quoted by CNN Portugal, Michael J. Villemin stated that “Lucas never offered any sum of money to resolve this matter, nor did he ever offer to maintain any confidentiality in exchange for money.”
“She asked Lopez to publicly take responsibility for his behavior, but he refused to do so,” the lawyer emphasized.
The Portuguese lawyer also added in his statement that Nuno Lopes refused to negotiate, as the actor had already reported.
“He does not admit any guilt and will not pay any amounts. He prefers to defend his good name and honor, which he will do in court, even in New York Federal Court at inevitable financial costs,” added Rute Oliveira. Serodio.
AM Lucas accused Nuno Lopez of drugging and raping her in 2006 when they met at the Tribeca Festival in a trial unsealed Monday in New York.
In the complaint filed last Friday, A.M. Lucas says that on April 28, 2006, she went to a premiere party at the Tribeca Film Festival, where she was introduced to Nuno Lopez, and that shortly after they met, they began to engage in sex with her. body. According to the director’s lawyers, she felt “unusually heavy” and began to “lose her memory.”
Citing “few and terrible fragmentary memories of that night and the early morning hours”, A. M. Lucas reported that he recalled Nuno Lopez “holding her limp legs” and raping her, detailing the various ways in which he did this, while she was walking. entry and exit from states of consciousness.
In a statement, the Portuguese actor denied all allegations, saying he is as morally and ethically as incapable of doing such things today as he was 17 years ago when he was studying acting in New York, and guaranteeing that he will never be “afraid to sue.” legal action against anyone who tries to discredit his good name.
As for the allegations, the actor claims he received them with “surprise and shock” in a letter from A.M. Lucas’ lawyers asking him to “offer a sum of money to drop this case and an apology.” Nuno Lopez refused.
Nuno Lopez began his statement by explaining that while he has always valued his privacy and maintained confidentiality, in this case he had “the greatest desire to publicize, clarify and tell the truth about this story,” which he simply did not did. do because his US lawyers instructed him to “refrain[-se] reveal all the details of the process.”
With this lawsuit, filed in a New York court on Monday, 17 years after the incident, the American director intends to hold the Portuguese actor accountable for his actions and draw the attention of victims of alleged sex crimes to the end of the special legal framework. called the Adult Survivors of Abuse Act to file a complaint.
The deadline to file a claim under New York’s so-called Adult Survivor Law (loosely translated) is Thursday.
According to lawyers A.M. Lucas, the screenwriter suffered “severe psychological and emotional trauma” that she “has to endure to this day.”
A.M. Lucas, in turn, said that the Portuguese actor was given “the opportunity to take responsibility for his actions: to admit what he did, to answer for it and to apologize.”
“He immediately refused to do so and stated in no uncertain terms that he would never admit to any wrongdoing. We cannot accept a world in which the perpetrators of heinous and inhumane behavior can live openly, with impunity and without social consequences, while its victims suffer in silence,” he added, stressing that despite any attempts to humiliate and discredit, that Nuno Lopez’s defense may undertake, he “will not be dissuaded from justice.”
The actor also states the same intention to seek justice, as he has a “absolutely clear conscience” although he is “aware of the very serious consequences that this case poses” and how his “decision to refuse a confidential agreement and publicly proceed to trial has consequences” for his “reputation, both personal and professional.”
“However, I want to make it very clear that I refute all allegations made against me, that I hope that this matter will be promptly clarified and fairly dealt with by the competent authorities, and that I will never be afraid to take legal action against anyone who tries to to discredit my good name,” the actor concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.