A former producer for NBC's "Dateline" is suing the show for forcing her to answer online sex ads to lure predators.
Kimberly Lengle claims she had no choice but to "engage in sexual role play and serve as bait for targets," according to her lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the New York Daily News reported. Lengle said her boss, Dan Slepian, repeatedly endangered her life by making her answer sex ads and even put her own ads on online, all for the sake of getting stories about sex ads on the Internet.
"As part of the story development process, the producers required her to engage in sexual role play and serve as bait for targets. Over time, this pressure intensified and became more overt," according to the lawsuit obtained by the Daily News.
Slepian consistently assigned Lengle stories related to Internet sex from December 2012 to May 2013 for a recurring "Dateline" series called "Wild Wild Web," the lawsuit states. When Lengle complained, Slepian "abused, ridiculed and threatened her," according to the lawsuit.
In one segment, Slepain made Lengle organize a meeting with a man in Las Vegas that was secretly filmed, the former producer said. The man promised good sex with Oxycodone and Xanax. The segment did not air, the newspaper reported.
In another segment Lengle was berated for not dressing sexy enough when she pretended to be interviewing for a receptionist job at a brothel, the lawsuit claims. In other situations Lengle had to send real pictures of herself when asked, even though her and other female producers used false identities, according to the lawsuit.
Lengle quit after the station's managers took Slepian's side. NBC released a statement defending their actions.
"We took this freelancer's allegations very seriously and determined that her claims were entirely without merit," read the statement obtained by the Daily News. Slepian did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.
To this day Lengle receives threatening texts from an upset target.
"Fat bitch Burn. You got it?" read one text, the Daily News reported.
Lengle is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
