MANHATTAN — A star of the popular Netflix show “Orange is the New Black” was charged with assaulting a teenage girl in her Washington Heights apartment in July, according to reports and court papers.
Dascha Polanco, 32, who plays Dayanara Diaz on the show, punched the 17-year-old girl in the face, pulled her hair and scratched her arms inside her West 190th Street Apartment on July 29, according to court papers and a report in the New York Post.
Polanco was arrested on Aug. 21 and arraigned on charges of assault and harassment on Thursday.
She was released without bail and an order of protection was issued.
“It’s a setup to try to get money and it was tape-recorded,” her defense lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, told the Post. “This young woman was trying to extort her to drop the case. We’re confident the charges will be dismissed.”
