- Horatio Sanz on November 23 settled a sexual assault lawsuit, filed by a former "SNL" fan.
- "Jane Doe" accused Sanz of grooming her from age 15 and sexually assaulting her at a party in 2002.
- The firm representing Doe told Insider on Monday that "the parties have resolved their dispute."
Horatio Sanz settled a lawsuit last week filed by an anonymous woman who accused the "Saturday Night Live" alum of grooming her for sexual abuse starting when she was a 15-year-old fan.
The woman — identified in court documents as "Jane Doe" — said in her lawsuit that Sanz started grooming her after meeting her through an "SNL" fan website. Doe alleged the grooming culminated in Sanz sexually assaulting her at an "SNL" after party in May 2002, in front of multiple cast members.
Sanz denied the allegations when Doe first filed the lawsuit in August 2021.
According to a November 23 court filing in New York Supreme Court, the parties agreed that the lawsuit should be "dismissed with prejudice," meaning that Doe can't file the same lawsuit again in the same court. It also stipulates that costs and attorneys' fees aren't being paid by one party to another party.
The filing was signed by attorneys representing Sanz, Doe, and NBCUniversal, which was named as a co-defendant in the case.
Doe was represented by Susan K. Crummiler of the feminist law firm Crummiler P.C. Jacob Eidinger. A spokesperson for the firm confirmed to Insider on Monday that "the parties have resolved their dispute and have moved on." Details of the settlement were not shared.
Steve Silverberg, an attorney for Sanz, declined to comment when reached by Insider on Monday. Attorneys for NBC did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Monday.
Earlier this year, Doe announced her intention to file a second amended complaint, which went into further detail about the abuse Doe alleges she endured at the hands of Sanz. In her lawsuit, she accused Sanz of sexual harassment, sexual assault and battery, and violating the NYC Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act. She also accused NBC of negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligence; and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention.
Doe accused Sanz of sexually abusing her at an 'SNL' after party in 2002
Doe said Sanz started grooming her after meeting her in person for the first time in January 2000, when Doe was 15 years old.
Over the next two years, she said they got closer as she made regular trips to New York City to watch airings of "SNL" and attend after parties, where she says she was served alcohol underage. She said they also began messaging online, and Doe alleged Sanz repeatedly asked her to send him sexualized pictures of herself.
The most jarring incident detailed by Doe in the suit focuses on an "SNL" after party held in May 2002, when Doe was 17 years old.
It was there that Doe says Sanz made out with her on a couch in the middle of the apartment, rubbing her vagina over her clothing, while she was "very drunk." Doe said she repeatedly asked Sanz to stop, to no avail.
"In a moment that felt like her worst nightmare, Jane glanced up to see that the majority of the SNL cast was gawking at her," the lawsuit read.
"Suddenly Sanz grabbed Jane's breasts and lifted them out of her shirt from behind, exposing them to all of the party attendees, but for his hands," the lawsuit added.
Doe said that Sanz continued to try and sexually abuse her in a taxi to Penn Station, where she eventually caught a train back to her home in Pennsylvania.
Immediately after the incident, Doe said she stopped updating her fan website. She says the sexual abuse she suffered caused her to experience "shame" and "depression" and to engage in "self harm" and take "dissociative drugs."
She said she was hospitalized in 2005 "as a direct and proximate result of the ongoing intense shame and damage Plaintiff suffered due to the sexual conduct by Sanz."
After a chance encounter in 2019, Doe said Sanz texted her to apologize about his behavior toward her as a teen.
"It was a fucking big mistake. I'm very sorry. If you want to metoo me you have every right. Just believe I'm not like that anymore," she said he texted her.
