Credit: Barbara Hine/Future Image/Cover Images, Instagram
Luann de Lesseps’ ex-boyfriend Garth Wakeford was sued by a New York Times reporter for alleged false imprisonment and battery.
The Real Housewives of New York alum reportedly met Garth through a dating app in the summer of 2020 before she confirmed their relationship in November. Luann announced their breakup less than a year later.
Per a complaint obtained by Page Six, Garth was sued for allegedly intoxicating Sarah Maslin Nir in the Hamptons before raping her in 2001, when Garth was 31 and Sarah was 18. She filed the suit right before the Adult Survivors Act expired.
Sarah said she was visiting a music venue with friends after her high school graduation. Per the suit, Garth was the venue’s bouncer, and he “allowed [Sarah and her friends] to enter the venue without showing identification,” though he knew they were underage. He allegedly “instructed the bartender to serve Nir numerous drinks ‘on him.’”
Sarah said she later accepted Garth’s offer to drive her home after his shift ended, because she saw him as a “safe” person. He allegedly drove her to an East Hampton beach instead, while she was “extremely and visibly intoxicated.”
The now-reporter claimed she couldn’t “physically get out of the car or walk on her own … [so he] lifted Nir out of her seat in the car and walked her to a beach trail as she lost consciousness.”
When she regained consciousness, Sarah was lying on the ground with her underpants at her ankle as Garth “was on top of her, penetrating her with his penis,” per the suit.
“She struggled to break free from Wakeford, repeating ‘no’ and ‘stop,’” continued the lawsuit. “But Wakeford pinned her to the ground and told her to ‘wait, I’m almost finished.’ Nir somehow managed to raise her knees and pushed Wakeford out of her body. As she did so, Wakeford ejaculated in her face, leaving her eyes red and burning.”
Sarah said she saw Garth a year later and confronted him about the alleged rape, telling him she “wasn’t there” during the penetration. According to the suit, Garth confessed, admitting he knew Sarah “wasn’t there,” and claimed it was the worst thing he’d ever done to another person.
Sarah said she attempted to file a report in 2017 at East Hampton Police Department, but the responding officer purportedly claimed to know Garth; Sarah was therefore “terrified” she wouldn’t “be treated fairly.”
Per the lawsuit, Sarah finalized the report in 2019 after working through therapy, but the investigation didn’t lead to any indictment.
Sarah said she has “extreme emotional distress” and “lasting trauma.” According to the suit, she struggles with “physical intimacy” and “forming relationships,” and she sometimes has “panic attacks” and “vomiting” before and during intimacy.
“New York’s Adult Survivors Act (or ‘ASA’) was passed a little more than a year ago so that people who have been the victim of a sexual assault that occurred long ago, at a time when societal attitudes were far different, could have a real chance to finally seek and obtain justice,” said her attorney Robert Kaplan. “That’s exactly what the case that we filed for Ms. Maslin Nir last week is all about. We are so honored to be representing her.”
Garth’s rep told the outlet, “These claims are meritless and without basis. Mr. Wakeford looks forward to establishing the facts around their consensual relationship in the course of this unfounded litigation, which is predicated on lies.”
