Rain Dove Confirms Turning Over Incriminating Asia Argento Texts To Police, Explains Why

Rain Dove, a model and the partner of actress and #MeToo activist Rose McGowan, has confirmed handing over to police incriminating text message conversations with Asia Argento.

In a lengthy statement shared on social media on Wednesday, Dove, who prefers to be identified with non-gendered pronouns, confirmed that they supplied Los Angeles police with the texts after Argento admitted to sexually engaging with a minor, as well as receiving nude images from that minor and not rejecting them, according to Dove’s statement.

A New York Times report published earlier this month alleged that Argento, a 42-year-old actress, filmmaker, and vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement, previously paid off actor and musician Jimmy Bennett after Bennett, now 22, accused Argento last year of sexually assaulting him in a hotel room when he was only 17 years old. Argento later denied having had a sexual relationship with Bennett, and implied that Bennet’s motivations for accusing her were financial. She also claimed that it was her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain who helped her arrive at the conclusion to meet Bennett’s financial demands rather than risk a scandal.

Text messages published by TMZ last week seemed to tell a different story, however, with a person reported to be Argento claiming that she did not know that Bennett was a minor until after the “shake down” letter and also admitting, “I had sex with him it felt weird.” A photo published by TMZ that same day shows Argento and Bennett in bed together, apparently topless, and was alleged to have been taken the day the alleged sexual assault occurred.

In Wednesday’s statement, Dove described their actions as “the basic thing one should do.”

“When the individual made it clear that they were not going to be honest about their engagement, I turned in materials that may contribute towards an honest investigation. All victims deserve justice. Justice can rarely exist without honesty,” Dubilewski’s statement read.

“In a sexual assault case it is important to support and believe the victim — while also allowing for due process. I believe all beings accused of a crime have the right to prove their innocence. For many victims of sexual assault their justice may never come in the court of law due to lack of evidence or time passage. It’s heartbreaking and cruel,” the statement continued. “However, I still fully believe in the allowance and balance of both ethos. Support and believe — allow due process.”

Dove's partner McGowan first introduced them to Argento, and Argento was reportedly an “important person” in McGowan’s life, Dove wrote. However, when Dove informed McGowan of her plans to go to police with what they knew about Argento, McGowan “immediately agreed that it was the right action to take.”

McGowan released a statement of her own earlier this week, claiming that Argento admitted to Dove that she'd slept with Bennett, who she also said had been sending her unsolicited nude photos of himself since the age of 12. McGowan further claimed that Argento stated that she did not tell him to stop or inform anyone else that he was sending her inappropriate images.

“It’s sad to lose a friend connection, but what’s even more sad is what happened to Jimmy Bennett,” McGowan said in her statement.

McGowan has since ceased contact with Argento, according to The Times, after Argento accused both McGowan and Dove of leaking text messages to the media, accusations which both parties deny.

Argento responded to Dove's decision to come forward by calling Dove a “monster,” the model told CNN in a report published Wednesday.

In his first statement since his story went public, Bennett explained earlier this month that he did not initially come forward out of fear of becoming part of the public #MeToo narrative.

“I was underage when the event took place, and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense to me at the time because I was not ready to deal with the ramifications of my story becoming public,” he said.

[Photos: Rain Dove attends the 5th Annual Broadway Sings For Pride event at JCC Manhattan on June 22, 2015 in New York City. By D Dipasupil/FilmMagic via Getty Images; Asia Argento attends the 2018 Women In The World Summit at Lincoln Center on April 12, 2018 in New York City. By Matthew Eisman/Getty Images]