Woody Allen's adopted daughter accuses him of sexual abuse

SUNDAY 02 FEBRUARY 2014

Film director Woody Allen's adopted daughter Dylan Farrow renews allegations the film director sexually assaulted her when she was seven, in an open letter to the New York Times.

Dylan Farrow claims in 1992 Allen led her to a "dim, closet-like attic" at the family's Connecticut home and "then he sexually assaulted me."

The letter to columnist Nicholas Kristof was posted online on Saturday and is the first time the 28-year-old has spoken publicly about the allegations.

She wrote: ""He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually abused me".

"That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up.

"I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls."

Farrow didn't specify Allen's actions but described how Allen would have her get in bed with him, and at other times "place his head in my naked lap and breathe in and breathe out."

'Doing things I didn't like'

She continued: "For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn't like.

"These things happened so often, so routinely, so skillfully hidden from a mother that would have protected me had she known, that I thought it was normal."

Dylan was adopted by Woody Allen and his then-partner, actress Mia Farrow, in 1980.

Allen was investigated on child molestation claims for the alleged incident in 1992, but prosecutors elected not to charge him.

The letter comes not long after Allen was honoured at the Golden Globes with the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.

Allen, who denies the allegations, and former partner Mia Farrow declined to comment.

'Probable cause' to charge Allen

The handling of the investigation was criticised after Litchfield County state attorney Frank S. Maco said in a press conference there was "probable cause" to charge Allen, although he chose not to.

A disciplinary panel found that Maco may have prejudiced the then-ongoing custody battle between Allen and Mia Farrow by making an accusation without formal charges.

The 1992 allegation came shortly after Allen became involved with Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.

Allen was not the adoptive father of Previn, who was about 19 at the time. Allen was in his mid-50s.

The two married in 1997 and have two adopted daughters.

Though many fans never forgave Allen for his romance with Previn, the director's career was largely uninterrupted.

He has continued to release a new film almost every year, with his latest, "Blue Jasmine," earning three Academy Award nominations, including a screenwriting nomination for Allen.