A high-profile attorney accused of having sex with a Brooklyn woman interviewing for a job as a receptionist dismissed the salacious allegations against him Thursday as he mulled an all-out legal battle to restore his name.
Attorney Sunny Barkats, 42, was joined by his wife, Elana, as he denounced his accuser, Denisse Villalta and said he was considering a countersuit.
“I cannot let this claim go unchallenged,” Barkats said at his Midtown office. “I do not know why this young woman chose to lie, but I believe in God and justice and I have done nothing to warrant this action.”
His defense came one day after Denisse Villalta, 21, sued Barkats, a founding partner of the law firm JS Barkats PLLC, alleging he forced her to strip and have sex with him on two separate occasions during and after a job interview.
Barkats told her “she now belonged to him and that she would be required to have a threesome with him and his wife,” the suit says.
He choked and threatened her during the second sexual encounter a day later, the court papers say.
Villalta never returned to work the following day, prompting Barkats to send her threatening text messages, including a photo of him holding a steak knife, the suit claims.
Barkats denied sexually harassing Villalta, but declined to comment on whether or not the two ever had any sexual contact.
He admitted meeting Villalta, but said the interview never took place. The head of human resources interviewed her, he said.
The livid legal eagle pointed to city and federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations into Villalta’s claims last year that found no misconduct on his part.
“(The EEOC) has already made the determination that there is no evidence to support this frivolous claim,” Barkats said, reading a prepared statement. “I refused on many opportunities to settle this because I do believe in our justice system and the truth will prevail.”
But Villalta’s attorney, Alexander Coleman, said Barkats was misrepresenting the EEOC’s findings, which he said gave her the right to sue. He scoffed at the notion of a countersuit.
“Any counterclaims ... would only serve to increase Mr. Barkats’ already impressive liability, as it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing claims of discrimination,” he said.
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