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These are some very serious allegations.
By Nicole Pomarico — Written on Aug 06, 2020
As more and more women speak out about sexual assault in Hollywood, another has come forward about a comedian who allegedly abused her when she was a minor. A woman named Jessica Radtke has accused Jeff Ross of having a sexual relationship with her when she was still a minor,and now, she's making headlines for her allegations against him.
Who is Jesscica Radtke, who accused Jeff Ross of sexual assault?
And what is she saying happened between them? Here's what we know so far.
Jessica Radtke created a video in 2019 to share the story of her allaged assault by Jeff Ross.
In the video, which has been shared across several different social media accounts, Radtke shares her story. According to her, she and Ross began a relationship in 1999, when she was 15 years old and he was 33, when she was working answering phones at Boston Comedy Club. It didn't take long after they met before they allegedly began a sexual relationship, and they continued seeing each other through the time that she was 22. During that time, Radtke claimed she discovered that Ross had polaroids in his apartment of other girls who also appeared to be underage.
Jessica Radtke has also shared her story on Facebook and Instagram.
In accounts called IWas15HeWas33, Radtke has shared photos and screenshots of text where she has shared details of her relationship with Ross, as well as an essay that she had written for a writing class about their relationship. She claims it was writing that essay that made her realize that what she had with Ross hadn't been normal and helped her realize that she had been traumatized by the experience.
Radtke is now married, but chooses to keep her spouse's identity as private as possible.
In a recent interview, Radtke opted to go by her maiden name while opening up about her encounters with Ross. Radtke is now married. Because of that, it is impossible to track down where Radtke is now and what she is doing, aside from the social media accounts she created specifically to address the situation involving Ross.
Jessica Radtke says she has been diagnosed with PTSD after hera alleged Jeff Ross sexual assault.
In that interview, Radtke revealed that she has struggled with her mental health in the years since her alleged assault.
“I thought I had stuffed it down deep enough and taken enough Klonopin, seen enough therapists, and smoked just enough medical marijuana to be okay," she said. "I thought, Okay, I’m okay.' I didn’t really know that it was that word — rape — until recently.”
Radtke plans to take legal action against Jeff Ross.
Radtke said in the same interview that she has found legal representation in Alex Little, the same lawyer who represented Kesha in her suit against Dr. Luke, to bring a case against Ross for his alleged crimes against her while he was still a minor, and thanks to an extended statue of limitations in New York, she has until August 2021 to do so.
Jeff Ross has denied Jessica Radtke's allegations against him.
In a statement Ross issued via Twitter in June, he denied Radtke's allegations and shared that will also be taking action. He said that the accusations being made against him are "false," and claimed that Radtke has a "documented history of drug abuse" and even accused her of making similar claims against others in the past that he believes are untrue.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.