Pavlovich identified herself in an interview with New York Magazine, which published an article in January detailing allegations of assault, abuse and coercion leveled by eight women. Pavlovich alleges in the lawsuits that she was homeless and living on a beach when she met Palmer in Auckland, New Zealand, in Pavlovich was 22 years old at the time.
Pavlovich began running errands for the couple, babysitting their son and helping with chores, eventually becoming the couple's nanny. Gaiman first sexually assaulted her the night they met in February , according to the lawsuits. The assaults continued but she kept working for the couple because she was broke and homeless and Gaiman had told her he would help her writing career, according to the lawsuits. When she told Palmer about the assaults, Palmer told her that more than a dozen women had told her in the past that Gaiman had sexually abused them, according to the lawsuits.
The assaults didn't stop until Pavlovich told Palmer she was going to kill herself, the lawsuits said. She left the family and became homeless again, although the documents say Gaiman eventually paid her for her work caring for the couple's child and helped cover her rent for a few months. Palmer knew of Gaiman's sexual desires and presented Pavalovich to him knowing he would assault her, according the lawsuits.
After the New York Magazine article was published, Gaiman released a statement in January denying he had ever engaged in non-consensual sex. The allegations of four of the women were previously broadcast in July in a Tortoise Media podcast. Representatives for Gaiman and Palmer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday and online court records did not list attorneys representing them in the suits.
Pavlovich told New York Magazine that she filed a police report in January accusing Gaiman of sexual assault. Police have not confirmed whether Gaiman was ever under investigation. Gaiman has worked with numerous publishers over the years. Two of them, HarperCollins and W. Norton, have said they have no plans to release his books in the future.
