$260M sex slave suit against Dov Charney tossed

Irene Morales

Fashion chain American Apparel has previously been slammed over its racy adverts which include young women wearing few clothes and in provocative poses

Get that smut outta here.

A Brooklyn court won't have to deal with the X-rated claims made against American Apparel chief Dov Charney, who was accused in a $260 million lawsuit last year of turning a teen-age girl into his sex slave.

The racy allegations made by Irene Morales should instead be heard behind closed doors in arbitration, Supreme Court Justice Bernadette Bayne ruled, after a California court had already ordered the same case into arbitration.

"We've always held these claims to be frivolous," said Stuart Slotnick, a lawyer for Charney. "We expect they will be dismissed."

Morales, 21, sued the kinky clothing kingpin last year, saying he began sexually harassing her when she was 17, and marked her 18th birthday by answering the door in is skivvies and sodomizing her.

The suit said Morales was "held prisoner" in Charney's Manhattan pad for hours as she was forced to pleasure him sexually.

Charney, whose past hijinks reportedly include masturbating in front of a Jane magazine reporter during an interview, also was accused of forcing Morales into an arrangement where she could keep her job as an American Apparel manager in exchange for continued sexual service.

But her case was dented when Charney fired back that the teen repeatedly sent him sizzling self-portraits via email and was trying to shake him down.

The documentary evidence of emails and photos undermined her completely," said Slotnick, whose client has been accused by ex-employees of conducting business meetings in the nude.

Morales' lawyer Eric Baum, said he would appeal, saying he believes the judge "made an inaccurate decision."

The California case and the New York case are separate," he said. "The California case involves a blog impersonation and the New York case involves sexual harassment."

Whether this case is heard in court or in arbitration, we intend to fight for the rights of Irene Morales," he said. "We will use all legal means necessary to ensure this does not happen to other teen-age employees."

Morales, he said, is "trying to move on with her life. She's taking it one day at a time."

The suit had said Morales suffered "serious psychiatric injuries from which she will never recover" and had to undergo mental-health treatment as a result of her time with Charney.

As recently as the summer of 2010, the suit said, she was lured to California by Charney and again subjected to "extreme psychological abuse and torment" that drove her to the "verge of a breakdown."

Morales could not be reached for comment.

Slotnick had argued that the case should go to arbitration because Morales had signed a deal that said it shouldn't be handled in the courts.