Mario Batali has agreed to settle two trials in Massachusetts accusing the infamous of sexual assault, lawyers for women said Wednesday.
The resolution to settle the cases comes more than two months after the former Food Network personality was acquitted of a criminal offense stemming from the crimes through one of the women, who prosecutors say kissed and groped her aggressively while taking a selfie at a downtown Boston bar. 2017 .
“The problems have been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. We make additional comment due to confidentiality obligations,” attorneys for the two women, Eric Baum and Matthew Fogelman, said in an emailed statement.
An email seeking comment sent to Batali’s lawyer on Wednesday.
The women alleged that Batali sexually assaulted them on occasion. Fees presented through one of the women led to the only thief case against the prominent chef and restaurateur at the height of the #MeToo movement.
A woman testified in May about how powerless she felt to do anything to prevent Batali at the time.
But Batali was acquitted of indecent assault and assault after a Boston ruling agreed with Batali’s lawyers that the accuser had credibility problems and that the images advised the assembly amicably.
Batali’s lawyers portrayed the accuser as a financially motivated liar for her civil lawsuit against the leader in 2018.
If convicted, Batali faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison and has registered as a sex offender.
The other, who sued Batali in 2019, also alleged that Batali groped and kissed her at a Restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown in 2016.
Batali resigned from the day-to-day operations of his restaurant empire and left ABC’s cooking show “The Chew,” which has since been discontinued after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.
Last year, Batali, his business spouse and his New York-based restaurant company agreed to pay $600,000 for a four-year investigation through the New York Attorney General’s Office into allegations that Batali and other staff members sexually harassed employees.