A victim’s lawyer contacted the police, which resulted in the LAPD’s sexual assault division to open an investigation on February 3, a police spokesman told CNN. Hammer has denied the rape charge.
On thursday, Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred introduced her 24-year-old client, identified only as Effie, who said she was raped by Hammer.
Effie, who lives in Europe, said she had an intermittent intimate and romantic relationship with Hammer from 2016 to 2020. She was 20 when she met Hammer on Facebook and “fell in love with him instantly,” she said.
She claims that Hammer used to test her devotion to him and push his limits. As time went on, he reportedly became “more and more violent,” Effie said.
“He abused me mentally, emotionally and sexually,” she said through tears.
Effie accused Hammer of raping her violently for more than four hours in Los Angeles on April 24, 2017. She said he committed acts of violence against her, with which she did not consent, such as allegedly hitting her feet with a whip . It hurt for her to walk for the next week, Effie said.
“I thought he was going to kill me,” she said.
Effie said she lived in fear of him and tried to dismiss her actions towards her as a “distorted form of love”. Effie said she even lost interest in living because of what she claims to have happened to her.
In a statement, Hammer’s lawyer refuted Effie’s claims as “outrageous”, saying that all of Hammer’s interactions with her and other partners “were completely consensual, discussed and agreed in advance, and mutually participatory”.
“Effie[‘s]… the correspondence with Mr. Hammer itself undermines and refutes his outrageous accusations, “said Hammer’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler.” Recently, on July 18, 2020, [she] sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do with her. Mr. Hammer responded by making it clear that he did not want to have that kind of relationship with her. “
Brettler’s statement included what he said was a screen capture of an explicit text conversation between Hammer and Effie.
“It was never Mr. Hammer’s intention to embarrass or expose [her] fetishes or perverted sexual desires, but she has now escalated this issue to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to give a public press conference, “he said.
Allred said it was “extremely traumatic and stimulating” for Effie to talk about these claims.
Effie said she feels immense guilt for not revealing herself before, but hopes that her story will inspire “survivors of sexual violence around the world” to present their stories in the hope of justice.
“Despite the emotional price she had to pay for speaking her truth, she found the courage to discuss what she claims to have happened to her for two reasons,” said Allred. “First, she wants to alert other women who may contact Mr. Hammer about the possible risks in their relationship with him.
“Secondly, Effie was contacted by many others who claim that they were also victims of Mr. Hammer in the sexual relationship they had with him,” she added.
Allred said that there are no plans to file a lawsuit at the moment, but that the evidence has been handed over to the police that could assist in Hammer’s investigation.
“We think it is important that an investigation into these serious charges be conducted,” said Allred. “We are anxious to know whether Mr. Hammer, instead of his representatives, will be willing to assist investigators in their search for the truth.”
In January, the 34-year-old released a statement in response to the allegations of his ex-girlfriend Paige Lorenze, where he said that all sexual activities outside his marriage were “completely consensual, since they were fully discussed, agreed upon and mutually participatory. ”