A man known for dating a top Ukrainian model was convicted of brutally beating another woman he met at a Manhattan bar three years ago — but then fled the US for Turkey before he could be sentenced, new court papers allege.
Now, the victim is suing in Manhattan Supreme Court in an effort to bring him to justice.
Norwegian architect Amanda Kjaervik filed the suit Saturday against Baran Gunes — who hails from Turkey and made headlines last year when his GQ model girlfriend was also bashed at a nightclub in his homeland.
Kjaervik, who was 24 at the time, says in the suit she was out with a friend on March 24, 2018, when she met Gunes, 35, at downtown club Paul Casablanca.
Later that night, Gunes — who is also a US citizen — invited Kjaervik and others to his SoHo apartment on Greenwich street, the court papers say.
After the group arrived at his pad, Gunes came onto Kjaervik —when he “pushed himself up against Amanda, and pulled her towards him,” the court papers allege.
When Kjaervik “protested and tried to extract herself from his grasp, he continued to press,” the court documents claim. “She said no and pushed him away.”
But Gunes got angry and started screaming at her, telling her “to look at herself and see how ugly she was,” the suit alleges.
Gunes said he normally goes for supermodels and told Kjaervik she was a “2 out of a 10,” the court filing charges.
Gunes also bragged that “he and his family were important and owned a lot of property in New York,” told Kjaervik her family was “nothing” telling her to be grateful that he was sexually attracted to her, the court documents claim.
Kjaervik then grabbed her things to run out of his apartment — and Gunes shoved her as she was leaving, causing her to knock her head against the hallway wall before she fell over, the court papers allege.
“As she was lying crumped and dazed on the floor, Gunes punched Amanda multiple times,” the suit alleges. “As he continued to batter her, she bled profusely.”
Gunes left Kjaervik bleeding on the floor when he went back into his apartment locking the door behind himself, the court documents claim.
A bleeding and “petrified” Kjaervik left the building, called the police and was taken to a hospital, where a plastic surgeon had to stitch her eyebrow injury in an attempt to minimize scarring, the court papers claim.
In March 2019, a judge convicted Gunes on all counts he faced for the incident including third-degree assault and second-degree aggravated harassment, the Manhattan DA’s office confirmed.
Gunes was scheduled to be sentenced in May that year but he didn’t show up — and a judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest, the DA’s office said.
Gunes — who is now living in Turkey, according to the lawsuit — faced up to one year in jail, the DA’s office said.
The suit notes a subsequent incident in Turkey on August 2020 involving the beating of his model girlfriend, Daria Kyryliuk.
The pair allegedly blamed the attack on a club security guard. Later, police said they had reason to suspect that Gunes was involved, the suit claimed — citing a Turkish media report. It is unclear what happened in that case.
Kjaervik — who is now 29 and living in Copenhagen, Denmark — is suing Gunes and the building’s co-op for unspecified damages.
Jennifer Freeman, Kjaervik’s lawyer, told The Post, “He completely escaped responsibility and accountability.”
“The criminal justice system did the right thing — he was convicted,” Freeman said. “But he fled the country, so this is the only way that we know how to hold him responsible.”
Freeman said her client “was shocked and traumatized and rocked to her core,” by the attack.
Gunes didn’t not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Scott Fenstermaker, Gunes’ criminal defense attorney, told The Post he believes “the conviction was problematic,” because he didn’t find Kjaervik’s testimony credible.
Fenstermaker said he didn’t know his client had left for Turkey — but he wasn’t surprised because “I do not believe that he would believe that he received a just trial.”