Neil Gaiman faces civil lawsuit over rape and human trafficking claims

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Neil Gaiman and his estranged wife, Amanda Palmer, are the subjects of a civil lawsuit filed against them by their former nanny.
New Zealand native Scarlett Pavlovich first made her allegations public in a New York Magazine article published in January that also contained assault claims from seven other women. She has now filed a civil lawsuit in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York, claiming Palmer was more complicit in Gaiman’s alleged crimes than it may have first appeared.
The suit has been filed in Wisconsin, as that is where Gaiman currently resides, but Pavlovich’s legal team is unsure whether Palmer – who is in the process of divorcing Gaiman – lives in Massachusetts or New York.
This story contains content that readers may find disturbing, including graphic allegations of sexual assault.
Shockingly, Pavlovich’s suit has accused Gaiman of rape, coercion and human trafficking while also accusing Palmer of “procuring and presenting” her to Gaiman for the purpose of being abused.
Pavlovich claims she was homeless and living on a beach in Auckland, New Zealand when she first met Palmer in 2020. At the time, she was only 22 years old and was excited to be invited to the couple’s house on Waiheke Island. She soon began running errands and babysitting the couple’s son before she was officially hired as their nanny.
However, Pavlovich claims Gaiman assaulted her the first evening they met in February 2022 and continued assaulting her, with the young woman choosing to stay employed by him because she would otherwise be homeless. She also says he claimed he’d help her with an aspiring writing career.
Pavlovich’s suit claims Palmer knew about her husband’s activities and that she introduced her to him in the full knowledge that he would assault her. She claims she told Palmer about the assaults, to which the musician allegedly replied that a dozen other women had made similar claims in the past. However, the suit alleges that Gaiman’s assaults didn’t cease until Pavlovich threatened to commit suicide.
The young woman eventually left Gaiman and Palmer’s employ and became homeless again, although the suit says Gaiman then paid her rent for a few months so she had somewhere to live. She claims she reported his assaults to the police at one point, but nothing was done because “Palmer refused to talk to them.”
In her suit, Pavlovich is seeking $7 million in damages. Representatives for Gaiman and Palmer have yet to comment on the suit, but Gaiman has previously denied his relationships with any of the women were non-consensual.
A spokesperson for Palmer previously stated she was “profoundly disturbed” by the allegations before she posted to social media, “As there are ongoing custody and divorce proceedings, I am not able to offer public comment. Please understand that I am first and foremost a parent. I ask for privacy at this time.”
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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