A lawyer for two women who have accused actor Steven Seagal of sexual assault years ago said Monday that “all legal options remain open.”
Civil-rights attorney Lisa Bloom told reporters she had taken on the cases of former Dutch model Faviola Dadis and former aspiring actress Regina Simons pro bono “as they seek justice and accountability” from the actor. Both women first publicly disclosed their accusations against Seagal in exclusive interviews with TheWrap in January.
“Steven Seagal may be a big action star but it’s Faviola and Regina who are taking action now,” Bloom said. “Each of them has already gone to the Los Angeles police to give full and complete reports. The three of us stand ready, willing and able to fully cooperate and follow up.”
Simons and Dadis filed complaints with the Los Angeles Police Department earlier this year.
Simons said Seagal raped her after inviting her to his home for what he said would be a wrap party for his film “On Deadly Ground,” in which she was an extra. When she arrived, no one was home except Seagal she said.
Dadis said he groped her during an audition in 2002.
Seagal, 65, moved to Russia in 2016.
An attorney for Seagal did not respond to a request for comment Monday. But Seagal has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with “InfoWars” host Alex Jones, Seagal said that he was the victim of a conspiracy to bring down high-profile men.
“Women have lied and been paid to lie about me without any evidence, any proof, any witnesses,” Seagal told Jones.
Bloom did not say what legal options she intended to pursue in the case, but suggested options remain available in both cases.
“I don’t like to reveal my legal strategy in advance,” Bloom said. “In California there is an extended statute of limitations for civil cases when the victim is under the age of 18, as Faviola alleges. On the criminal side, there is also an extended statute of limitations, where prosecutors can file criminal charges within one year of a police report.”
Dadis said she met Seagal when she was a 17-year-old model, when, according to her, the actor fondled her breasts and grabbed her crotch during an audition for a movie in a Beverly Hills hotel.
“At the time I did not tell anyone for about a month because I was scared, and I thought I should have known better,” Dadis said Monday, choking back tears. “I didn’t realize that it wasn’t my fault at all. I had been taken advantage of by someone with a lot of power.”
“This is about accountability,” she added.
Simons said she was 18 and sexually inexperienced when Seagal raped her.
“He took my hand and led me into an adjacent room, which appeared to be a bedroom,” she told reporters. “He closed the door and approached me from behind, started kissing my neck and taking off my clothes. I was in shock.”
Seagal is best known for his ’80s and ’90s action movies, including the “Under Siege” films, which together grossed more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
The LAPD declined to comment to TheWrap, citing confidentiality. An LAPD spokeswoman said the department was investigating a separate case involving Seagal from 2005 but declined further comment.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney announced in February Seagal’s case was “under review.”
Both Simons and Dadis told TheWrap that they shared their accounts with several other people years ago before going public, and those people corroborated the women’s accounts in interviews with TheWrap.
Simons and Dadis are among more than a dozen women who have accused Seagal of sexual misconduct, including actors Portia de Rossi and Julianna Margulies. But Simons appears to have been the first to publicly accuse him of rape.
Both women said they were encouraged to come forward following the #MeToo Movement in Hollywood. Dadis said she decided to tell her story after de Rossi publicly accused Seagal of unzipping his pants in front of her during an audition.
“I really thank her for her bravery,” Dadis said of de Rossi. “This is something that never goes away.”