Ex-assistant says filmmaker Paul Schrader sexually assaulted her and backed out of settlement deal [Video]

NEW YORK – Paul Schrader, the writer of “Taxi Driver” and director of “American Gigolo,” has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, firing her when she wouldn’t acquiesce to advances and reneging on a settlement that was meant to keep the allegations confidential.

The former assistant, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the filmmaker and his production company on Thursday. She is seeking a judge’s order to enforce the agreement after Schrader said he couldn’t go through with it. The terms, including a monetary payment, were not disclosed.

“This is an open-and-shut settlement enforcement matter,” Doe’s lawyer, Gregory Chiarello, wrote in court papers accompanying the breach of contract claim.

Schrader’s lawyer, Philip …