‘Orange is the New Black’ star Dascha Polanco accused of assault

Orange Is The New Black star Dascha Polanco has been accused of assaulting a teenage girl.

Polanco also allegedly pulled the girl’s hair and hit her arm in the July 19 incident. Polanco, 33, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday to answer charges of assault and harassment, according to Daily Mail and other news sources.

The defendant struck “Ms. Cardona about the face and head with a closed fist at least three times”, investigators say in the criminal complaint.

“This is an attempt to extort money by making a false claim.”

Polanco declined to comment on the case following her birthday court hearing, but her lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, insists his client is innocent.

Polanco is due back in court in January.

“It’s a set up to try to get money and it was tape recorded”, Lefcourt told reporters.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Dascha Polanco attends the 25th annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Carnegie Hall on November 9, 2015 in NY.

“We expect the case to be dismissed.”

On the show, she’s serving a prison stint for drugs.

Lefcourt said in a phone call with HuffPost that Cardona offered to drop the charges in exchange for a payoff – and that he has proof. Her character was pregnant for the first and second seasons, providing viewers with a good deal of suspense as to what would happen to her baby once she gave birth from behind bars. However, her day in court was posponed to December 3 because of work commitments.

The authorities claim Polanco invited the victim to the apartment where she caught the fade. Her next appearance is scheduled for early 2016.