Timothy Hutton Denies Allegations That He Raped Sera Johnston When She Was 14 In 1983

Actor Timothy Hutton, who won an Academy Award for his performance in 1980’s Ordinary People,  is denying allegations that he raped a 14-year-old girl in 1983. The allegations first became public knowledge on March 2, when BuzzFeed News published an investigative article in which the news organization interviewed the accuser, Sera Johnston. Johnston claims that she and a two of her friends had a chance meeting with Hutton and some of his entourage in a Vancouver restaurant. The actor was in Vancouver shooting for the 1984 movie Iceman. Hutton then allegedly invited the three girls, who were in junior high at the time, back to his hotel. Then, Johnston claims that Hutton and his entourage offered the girls alcoholic drinks, and soon began to have sex with them, despite stating numerous times that she did not want to have sex. “Please, don’t do this. I can’t do it,” Johnston claims to have told Hutton while he penetrated her.

On the same day BuzzFeed’s article was published, Hutton reached out to Deadline to deny all of Johnston’s allegations. Hutton also claims that Johnston is fabricating the story for monetary compensation from him. “For the past two-and-a-half years, I have been the target of multiple extortion attempts by a woman named Sera Dale Johnston to extract millions of dollars from me. She threatened that if I did not meet her demands, she would go to the press with a false allegation that I sexually assaulted her 37 years ago in Canada,” said Hutton.

Tom Clare, a lawyer representing Hutton, claims that BuzzFeed deliberately ignored information that may have supported Hutton’s claims. “If BuzzFeed wrongfully refuses to retract the article, Tim [Hutton] is prepared to take any and all necessary steps, including the filing of a defamation lawsuit,” wrote Clare in a statement. In response, Matt Mittenthal, a spokesperson for BuzzFeed, defended the article in a statement. “BuzzFeed News’ reporting on the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by Timothy Hutton is based on interviews with the alleged victim, the account of a woman who was with her that evening, and five separate people who were told of the assault at the time. BuzzFeed News stands unequivocally by our reporting,” said Mittenthal.