Steven Seagal accused of raping teenage actor in 1993

Regina Simons, who worked as an extra on the film On Deadly Ground, becomes latest woman to allege sexual misconduct against Hollywood star

 ‘I was completely caught off guard. Tears were coming down my face,’ said Regina Simons of her encounter with Steven Seagal. Photograph: Kristina Nikishina/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia

Andrew Pulver

@Andrew_Pulver

Fri 12 Jan 2018 16.02 GMTLast modified on Fri 12 Jan 2018 16.03 GMT

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The actor and producer Steven Seagal has been accused of rape by an extra who worked on his film On Deadly Ground.

Regina Simons, who was 18 when shooting the film in 1993, told the Wrap that Seagal assaulted her after he invited her to a party at his house. On arrival, she discovered that no one else was there and says she “froze” when Seagal began to have sex with her. Simons said: “I think because of the situation I was completely caught off guard. Tears were coming down my face and I know that it hurt. He was three times my size.”

Simons, a Mormon, also said that after confiding in a bishop, she decided not to come forward at the time due to the stigma that would be attached to the incident in the Mormon community – but had reported it to the police a month ago.Simons’ allegation is the latest in a string of misconduct accusations against Seagal, many of which were reported in November 2017. Actors Portia de Rossi, Julianna Margulies and Rae Dawn Chong all claimed that Seagal had behaved inappropriately at so-called “auditions” in his hotel room or office.

In the wake of these reports, the Dutch former model Faviola Dadis claimed in an Instagram post that Seagal had groped her during a 2002 audition. Dadis said she was told that a female casting director would be present, yet arrived to find only Seagal and a male security guard in the room. According to Dadis, Seagal asked to “act out a romantic scene” before groping her. Dadis said she recently reported the incident to police.

Seagal has not yet responded to any of the allegations made against him.

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