The attorney for the woman accusing Vince McMahon of human trafficking said Thursday, as a Netflix documentary about the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO premieres next week, that she hopes he will be charged quickly.
Ann Callis is representing Janel Grant, a former WWE employee who accused McMahon of human trafficking and abuse in a civil lawsuit in January, but later dropped her case at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is conducting an investigation.
At a press conference, Callis said she and Grant are “hopeful” that charges will be filed soon and that they are pleased with the pace at which the U.S. attorney’s office is proceeding.
“We want it to be done right, not too fast,” Callis said.
McMahon and the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment.
When Grant’s lawsuit was filed, a spokesman for McMahon said it was “filled with lies, obscene fabrications of events that never happened and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will defend himself vigorously.”
After the lawsuit was filed, McMahon stepped down as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company.
Grant’s lawsuit also names WWE and former WWE executive John Laurinaitis as defendants.
The documentary, “Mr. McMahon,” premieres Wednesday on Netflix.
Kendra Barkoff Lamy, a spokesperson for Grant, said in a statement Thursday that Grant “is ready to move forward and get justice the way she deserves.”
WWE announced last summer that investigators had served McMahon with a federal grand jury subpoena and executed a search warrant at his home. NBC News reported that federal investigators seized a phone belonging to McMahon.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
