Hollywood Child Sexual Abuse Is No Secret: 3 Men Charged in 2 Weeks
December 7, 2011 — Fox news reports that Hollywood may have a new child sexual abuse scandal on its hands. Since November 17, three men in the entertainment industry have been charged with sexually abusing children.
This may just be the tip of the iceberg. Several Hollywood insiders allege that the industry is a hive of sexual predation, and pedophiles are drawn toward powerful management positions in the entertainment industry. Several former child actors have come forward with their stories of abuse, including Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and Allison Arngrim. Feldman warned, “I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia. … It’s the big secret.”
The three men most recently charged in the sexual abuse scandal are:
- Martin Weiss, 47, a child actor agent, was charged on December 1, 2011 of sexually abusing a former client, who was under 12 years old at the time of the abuse. Weiss represented child actors in Los Angeles, and authorities were told “what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry.”
- Jason James Murphy, 35, is a registered sex offender who worked as a casting agent until the Los Angeles Times revealed his sordid past on November 17. Murphy was convicted of kidnapping and sexually abusing a young boy.
- Fernando Rivas, 59, a composer for “Sesame Street,” was charged on November 21 with coercing a child into sexually explicit conduct in South Carolina, producing child pornography, and distributing child pornography.
Experts say that pedophiles are drawn to the Hollywood scene. Sexual predators often carefully cultivate their image as someone who is trustworthy around children. They also go to great lengths to be in a position of authority and power, so that people are less likely to question their behavior around children. The children may be desperate to become famous, making them easy to manipulate — they may be given drugs, and used for sex by multiple pedophiles. Arngrim said “I literally heard that they were ‘passed around’,” referring to Corey Haim and Corey Feldmen. “People said, ‘Oh yeah, the Coreys, everyone’s had them. People talked about it like it was no big deal.”
Haim died of a drug overdose in March 2010. Feldman recently came forward on ABC’s Nightline to speak regarding his sexual abuse in Hollywood, and warn others of that this is a serious problem within the child-acting industry.
There may be pedophiles working in the Hollywood entertainment industry who have not been named, who are currently abusing children. Hopefully, the victims and people who hear about abuse will go to the authorities, and these sexual predators will face justice.
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