30 years after WWE's first female referee accused Vince McMahon of raping her, an ex-wrestler has claimed it's true

• Rita Chatterton, the WWE's first female referee, accused Vince McMahon in 1992 of raping her.

• An ex-pro wrestler said in a New York magazine story that Chatterton's allegation was true.

• McMahon recently stepped away from his CEO role amid an inquiry into separate misconduct claims.

A former wrestler said an allegation made by the WWE's first female referee — who accused Vince McMahon, the organization's former CEO, of raping her in 1986 — was true.

Leonard Inzitari, the ex-wrestler whose in-ring name was Mario Mancini, said the allegation made by Rita Chatterton was true. He made the claim to the journalist Abe Riesman in a story published by New York magazine Monday. Riesman is writing a book about McMahon called "Ringmaster," which is set to be released in March.

It's the first time a wrestler has backed up Chatterton's accusation.

Chatterton came forward publicly with the accusation in 1992, alleging that McMahon raped her in his limo in 1986. She declined to press charges, and the statute of limitations for rape had passed at the time, Riesman reported.

Inzitari said in the New York magazine story that Chatterton confided in him in 1986. Before a WWF show (WWE was known as the World Wrestling Federation at the time), Chatterton "burst out in tears" in front of Inzitari, he said.

He said Chatterton told him McMahon "took his penis out" and "forced my head down there." He added that she told him McMahon then "pulled me on top of him," forced off her jeans, and was then "inside her."

WWE did not respond to a request for comment from Insider on behalf of the company or McMahon.

McMahon's lawyer Jerry McDevitt did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on McMahon's behalf. Inzitari declined to comment to Insider.