Manhattan Prosecutors Charge Ben Pasternak With Misdemeanor Assault and Felony Strangulation

Manhattan prosecutors charged tech entrepreneur Ben Pasternak with misdemeanor assault and felony strangulation after a physical altercation with influencer Evelyn Ha at the Baccarat Hotel on March 31. According to the assistant district attorney, Pasternak lunged for Ha's phone, scratched her face, strangled her, pushed her to the ground, strangled her a second time, and then used a bathroom door against her arms and hips.

Ha told police she had been choked twice and that a bathroom door was repeatedly slammed on her body during an argument that began when she started filming on her cellphone. She provided police with video she recorded of the incident.

Pasternak has said he acted only in self-defense, denies strangling Ha, and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. His lawyer, Joshua Kirschner, stated that Pasternak's conduct was limited to lawful self-defense and efforts to disengage. " A friend, Kylie Ritchie, told Business Insider the couple had a pattern of explosive fights followed by reconciliation, during which Ha would scratch and pull at him.

Ritchie said Pasternak did not take the incidents seriously because nothing further had come of them before.

On April 26 Pasternak posted a YouTube video titled "My experience with Evelyn" that has been viewed nearly 600,000 times. In it he said he has never strangled anyone and claimed Ha had been abusive to him for most of their relationship. "The truth is, Evelyn was abusive to me for pretty much the entirety of our relationship," Pasternak said in the video.

"And I'm not the only one. " Instagram star Fred Liu, one of Ha's exes, posted that he had experienced physical violence in his relationship with her and that it was consistent with parts of what Pasternak described.