An actress who says she was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein is suing his film production company, claiming it knew the disgraced producer used his power to force young women into sex.

Dominique Huett launched a $5million (£3.8 million) civil suit in Los Angeles superior court on Tuesday claiming The Weinstein Company enabled its Oscar-winning founder’s “repeated acts of sexual misconduct.”

It is understood to be one of the first claims filed against the company following widespread claims of sexual harassment and assault by its co-founder.

The lawsuit claims Weinstein would use female employees as “honeypots” to lure victims into a false sense of security during meetings with Weinstein before leaving them alone with him.

It also alleges his brother Bob and the company’s directors were aware of Weinstein’s behaviour.

Ms Huett claims that Weinstein preyed on her after she agreed to meet him at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, in November 2010, to discuss work opportunities.

She alleges they met at the bar, where Weinstein told her he could help with her acting career, before asking if she’d had a “boob job” and asking to see her breasts.

Weinstein allegedly invited Ms Huett to his hotel room for a “business meeting”, at which point the producer left and came back wearing only a bathrobe — a move described by several of the women who have made allegations against him.