Fox News alum accused of additional sexual assault

Jennifer Eckhart, who accused the television reporter of rape in 2020, claims the news network was aware of Henry’s sexual harassment.

Journalist Ed Henryousted Fox News host Accused of rape in 2020He also faces other allegations of sexual harassment.

Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox Business co-executive producer whose allegations against Eckhart led to her firing in July 2020, filed a new motion last week in her ongoing legal battle with the news network. Henry denied Eckhart’s allegations of assault, maintaining that the sexual intercourse was consensual.

In Eckhart’s motion on Monday, his attorney, Michael J. Willemin, alleges that Henry sexually assaulted another female colleague during his time at the news network. Willemin also claims that Fox News was made aware of Henry’s alleged behavior by various employees.

“Fox News said it only learned of the new assault allegation during the course of this lawsuit and that no employees alerted executives that Henry had engaged in sexual harassment during his time at Fox,” the network said in a statement to USA TODAY on Wednesday. he said.

Fox News sought summary judgment in the case in September — an order that would have thrown out the trial — and claimed they immediately responded to Eckhart’s allegations by suspending Henry and launching an investigation.

Fox News said in a statement that Eckhart and her lawyers were “desperately trying to salvage their case,” adding that the network was “not aware of any relationship between Ms. Eckhart and Mr. Henry or any allegations of unwelcome sexual activity by Mr. Henry.” Until Henry left the company.”

“Fox News’ efforts to stick its head in the sand will not be rewarded. After years of failure to protect its female employees from sexual harassers and predators, we look forward to holding Fox News accountable for the harm suffered by Ms. Eckhart.” Before a jury of his peers,” Willemin said in a statement emailed to USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Lawyer: Fox News knew Ed Henry ‘posed a risk to female colleagues’

In the latest filing, Willemin accused Fox of failing to investigate allegations of assault, saying “none of these allegations were meaningfully investigated.”

In an earlier memo, Willemin responded to Fox’s move to avoid trial by saying Henry wanted the court to “decide disputed facts that should be left to a jury.”

Past incidents cited in the new filing include Henry’s alleged affair with a Las Vegas stripper in May 2016 and subsequent treatment for sex addiction; using a Fox News-issued device to engage in a “sexting incident”; and engaging in an inappropriate “sexual relationship” with another unnamed colleague.

The filing states that Fox News “knew she posed a risk to female colleagues, staff and subordinates,” and Willemin notes that Henry was suspended after the 2016 incident.

But the network “welcomed him with open arms, rewarded him by substantially renewing his contract, increasing his salary… promoting him to a highly coveted news anchor role, and continuing to enable and ignore his actions, effectively condoning his behavior. Red flags, complaints, and as warning signs pile up,” Willemin said in the filing.

Eckhart’s latest complaint involves an allegation that Henry sexually assaulted another Fox News employee shortly after returning to the network around 2017. The unnamed female employee testified under oath about the alleged assault as part of Eckhart’s trial.

“Fox News’ treatment of Mr. Henry after his return to the network served to embolden him as he escalated his mistreatment of women by not only raping Ms. Eckhart, but also sexually assaulting another Fox News employee,” Willemin said.

Fox noted in another recent filing that Eckhart did not tell anyone at Fox about her encounters with Henry until she was fired in 2020, and that Henry made efforts to hide the relationship from the network.

In a phone interview with USA TODAY, Willemin said that while it was true that Eckhart did not specifically name Henry, she did mention a toxic work culture in an interview with HR but was quickly shut down.

Eckhart’s attorney also briefly argued: “Ms. Eckhart was concerned that any statement made by her would get back to Mr. Henry, who has power and influence at Fox News and could get her fired.”

Ed Henry files lawsuit alleging rape after Fox News firing

Henry, who co-anchored “America’s Newsroom,” was terminated from Fox News after the news network announced on June 25, 2020, that it had received a complaint from a former employee’s attorney regarding “intentional sexual harassment in the workplace years ago.”

The following month, Eckhart and guest news analyst Cathy Areu filed a lawsuit Henry’s allegations of sexual misconduct range from sexual assault to forced oral sex. The complaint also revealed that Eckhart was the anonymous accuser whose allegations against Henry led to his firing from Fox.

Eckhart said in the lawsuit that Henry raped her and left her “scarred, bruised, and beaten with bloody wrists” in a New York hotel room “sometime in 2017,” and that Fox executives were briefed “graphically and in detail” about her allegation.

The lawsuit also alleged that Fox executives knew Henry was accused of sexual harassment long before Eckhart’s initial complaint. “Mr. Henry was not terminated after Fox News learned of these complaints. Based on information and belief, not even disciplinary action was taken,” the file said.

In a statement to USA TODAY through his attorney, Catherine Foti, Henry denied Eckhart’s allegations of sexual abuse at the time. The TV reporter claimed that Eckhart “initiated and fully encouraged a consensual relationship.”

“The #MeToo movement has helped bring to light some of the injustices in our society, and everyone who suffers deserves to be heard,” the statement said. The statement was included. “This is not one of those cases.”

Credit: Maria Puente, USA TODAY

Jennifer Eckhart, who accused the television reporter of rape in 2020, claims the news network was aware of Henry’s sexual harassment.

Lawyer: Fox News knew Ed Henry ‘posed a risk to female colleagues’

Ed Henry files lawsuit alleging rape after Fox News firing

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