Vin Diesel Wins Dismissal of Sexual Battery Lawsuit

A judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Vin Diesel of sexually assaulting his assistant in 2010 on the grounds that California law does not apply in Georgia.

The assistant, Asta Jonasson, sued Diesel in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2023, claiming that he had pinned her against a wall and pleasured himself while he was in Atlanta for the filming of “Fast Five,” the fifth “Fast & Furious” movie.

According to the complaint, Diesel had brought Jonasson to his hotel suite and forced her onto the bed.

She protested and tried to get away, but he pushed her against the wall, tried to pull down her undergarments, and then forced her to touch his member, the suit alleged.

She also alleged that, hours later, Diesel’s sister called her and fired her. She had worked for Diesel for nine days.

The judge, Daniel M. Crowley, previously dismissed four of Jonasson’s 10 claims, citing the statute of limitations.

In his ruling, he dismissed the remaining six claims due to a lack of jurisdiction.

“It is undisputed that the alleged sexual assault took place in Atlanta, Ga.,” the judge wrote, adding that the allegation “fails as a matter of law because California statutes are presumed not to have extraterritorial effect unless the Legislature expressly states otherwise in adopting the statute.”

Jonasson’s entire suit would ordinarily have been beyond the statute of limitations.

But in 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which revived certain sexual assault cases dating back to 2009.

The judge ruled that nothing in the law indicates that it applies outside the state of California.

In a statement, Jonasson’s lawyers said they plan to appeal. “The Court did not decide anything about the truth of Ms. Jonasson’s allegations,” they said. “The ruling was based on a legal technicality, with which we respectfully disagree. Ms. Jonasson intends to appeal.”

Diesel’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations when the case was first filed and said there was “clear evidence” that refuted them.

“We are grateful that the court put an end to this meritless lawsuit,” Freedman said Wednesday. “We are pleased that this matter has been resolved entirely.”