Nate Parker exposed himself to a female athletic trainer while standing trial for rape in 2000, an investigation from Pennsylvania state prosecutors reportedly reveals.
A probe into Penn State’s handling of serial child molester and football coach Jerry Sandusky unearthed the incident involving Parker, a former student wrestler, in attempts to prove institutional leniency with sexual offenses.
Parker was charged and later acquitted of rape while attending Penn State 17 years ago. He faced a brief suspension from the wrestling team when charges were filed but was quickly reinstated, reports the New York Times. While facing trial, he “exposed himself” to a woman on campus, the report said. The star flatly denies the incident occurred.
“This is the first Mr. Parker has ever heard of this,” Parker’s attorney David J. Matlof told the Times. “He recognizes the seriousness of the issue, but this claim is completely untrue.”
During a routine back treatment, Parker allegedly told the trainer he “wanted to show her something,” TMZ said in a separate report. He then pulled his pants down and “exposed the top half of his penis,” the report continued. A lawyer for Parker called that account “completely untrue.”
Representatives for Parker did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
The woman in question reportedly declined to take the matter to police despite encouragement form the university, who eventually dropped the issue.
The news is yet another development in the sexual assault case that would come to usurp Parker’s banner year in Hollywood, following the historic sale of “The Birth of a Nation” at January’s Sundance Film Festival — for which he served as writer, director, producer and star.
The rape case, which also implicated “Birth” co-writer Jean Celestine, reached critical mass this summer when news broke that Parker’s accuser took her own life in 2012.
The awards campaign for “Birth of a Nation” has all but stalled, and box office has been bleak, despite positive reviews.