The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. has done an about-face and now says it will investigate allegations by a man that he was sexually assaulted by Asia Argento when he was 17 years old.
Several Sheriff's officials told TMZ Monday morning the department would ONLY investigate if the alleged victim -- now 22-year-old Jimmy Bennett -- came forward and filed a complaint. One official now tells us the media attention on the case has made them do an about-face.
Bennett claims when he was 17, Argento -- who became one of the first women in the #MeToo movement to accuse Harvey Weinstein of rape -- plied him with alcohol, performed oral sex on him and then got on top of him and had intercourse ... this according to documents obtained by the New York Times.
Argento settled with Bennett for $380,000 ... so says the NYT.