Chris D'Elia Sued For Child Porn And Exploitation
Actor and comedian Chris D'Elia is facing a lawsuit for possession of child pornography and exploitation filed on behalf of a woman known as Jane Doe in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit alleged D'Elia demanded sexually explicit images from the unnamed woman when she was 17.
According to the suit, D'Elia met the woman after she messaged him on Instagram in 2014. He asked for her Snapchat and asked for pictures, and she sent him 5-10 sexually explicit pictures while she was still a minor. They met at one of his shows in Connecticut, where they had sex. The woman is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages along with an injunction preventing D'Elia from possessing or taking action with the photos.
It is unclear if this allegation is related to the allegations made against D'Elia last summer. Multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were brought against D'Elia after Twitter user Simoné Rossi talked about her experience with D'Elia, including screenshots of emails the two exchanged. While the emails were also exchanged in 2014, details of Rossi's story do not match up with what is present in the lawsuit, so it's possible the defendant in the case is another, hitherto unknown woman.
At the time, D'Elia defended himself from accusations by releasing emails he'd had with his accusers which show him backing off advances upon learning they were underage. At the time he said:
"All of my relationships have been both legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me. That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That's MY fault. I own it. I've been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better."
The accusations derailed his career, as he was dropped by his talent agency and let go from his upcoming projects. In February of 2021, he released a video apologizing and attempting to explain his behavior. He also admitted that there were way more women he'd been in contact with than the ones who made allegations last summer, but he again maintained all of his relationships were legal and consensual.
He is also denying the allegations made in the lawsuit; a spokesperson for D'Elia said, “Chris denies these allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court.”