TOKYO, JAPAN - OCTOBER 22: Actor Steven Seagal performs during the abolition of nuclear weapons concert on October 22, 2005 in Tokyo, Japan. The concert is supported by the Global Nuclear Disarmament Fund. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)
Steven Seagal was once accused of by actress Regina Simons who claimed that he raped her when she was 18 and an extra on his 1994 film On Deadly Ground.
Simons claimed Seagal invited her to a party at his home to celebrate the filming of the movie, but when she showed up she was the only one there. She alleges that Seagal took her to a bedroom, kissed her, and then raped her.
During that case, prosecutors declined to file charges against the actor because Simons was 18-years-old at the time and the statute of limitations for rape charges was six years when she brought up her accusations.
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But things were expected to be different when former model Faviola Dadis spoke to the police this year. She claimed that Seagal groped her during an audition in 2002 when she was 17-years-old. But even in the #MeToo era, no charges were brought.
Prosecutors found that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to file charges and that the statute of limitations had expired.
Anthony J. Falangetti, Seagal’s attorney, said they “are very pleased with the outcome.”
He said he was grateful with how the case was decided and how the prosecutors worked on it. He also added that Seagal wants to put the accusations behind him. “From a career standpoint, he wants to move on,” Falangetti said.
That may be difficult. Over several decades, Seagal has faced over half a dozen accusations of sexual assault, including rape. Actresses, film workers, and reporters have all accused him.
Lisa Bloom, the attorney representing Dadis and Simons, expressed frustration at state laws that stopped women from obtaining justice regardless of how the public may view Seagal.
“The law fails to recognize that few minors are emotionally ready to seek justice against their rapists until many years later,” Bloom said in a statement.
“Instead, it offers rapists a ‘get out of jail free’ card if they simply pass an arbitrary time deadline. And the law seems to presume that victims are lying, creating an unfairly high evidentiary standard not required in other criminal cases. Few rapists commit their crimes in the presence of witnesses.”
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Hay is expected to be sentenced on April 17.