After the news yesterday that 31-year-old Michael F. Egan III has filed a suit accusing X-Men director Bryan Singer of raping him when he was underage in 1999, it’s been revealed that Egan filed a previous suit over sex abuse allegations in 2000, but didn’t name Singer at the time.
Many had wondered why, when so many of the accusations in the new lawsuit involve two men called Marc Collins-Rector and Chad Shackley (and Singer was not present for numerous incidents included in the suit), they were not named as defendants. It seems the reason is that they were subject to a lawsuit in 2000, much of which revolves around the same or similar events that Singer’s name has now become involved with. THR dug out the old case but wasn’t immediately able to discover what the outcome was.
Collins-Rector and Shackley ran an early internet content company called DEN networks and apparently knew aspiring teenage actor Egan due to the fact Shackley’s younger brother Scott was in Egan’s high-school class.
While some of the allegations in the new suit are the same as the old one, they don’t include the 1999 party in Hawaii that is now at the centre of the new case. It is there that Singer is said to have given Egan drugs and alcohol, held his head underwater to force oral sex and repeatedly raped him.
Egan and his lawyer, Jeff Herman, held a press conference yesterday, where Egan claimed, “I was raped numerous times in that house [Collins-Rector & Shackley’s], by numerous individuals. You were like a piece of meat to these people.”
He also said it was reported to the police when he was 17 but it “basically fell on deaf ears.”
When THR brought the previous lawsuit to the attention of Herman, his publicist said, “From what I understand, Michael had previously disclosed the allegations against Bryan Singer, and questions about the previous lawsuit involving the DEN people should be directed to the lawyer involved in that suit.”
Singer’s lawyer, Marty Singer, responded to the latest developments, including the press conference, by saying, “The claims made today about Bryan Singer are completely fabricated. We look forward to our bringing a claim for malicious prosecution against Mr. Egan and his attorney after we prevail. It is obvious that plaintiff’s attorney is not looking to litigate the case on its merits. This matter is nothing more than the attorney seeking to get his 15 minutes of fame by sending out a press release with his ‘media consultant’ yesterday and following up with a press conference today. Attorneys who try cases don’t hold press conferences.”
The allegations against Singer have led to numerous different responses, from those who feel that it’s a shakedown to others who’ve talked about ‘rumours’ Singer likes the company of younger men. Some have also questioned the timing of the suit and the fact the abuse is said to have taken place in Hawaii, as a current amnesty on the statute of limitations for sex abuse cases in that State runs out on April 26th (normally a case has to be brought before a plaintiff in 26). It has already run out in California and most other states
However it’s not possible to infer whether this has any meaning other than this is likely Egan’s only opportunity to bring the case.
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