'Independence Day' actor claims he was sexually assaulted at the age of five

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ANI New Delhi [India]
Last Updated : Nov 03 2017 | 9:42 AM IST

'Independence Day' actor Randy Quaid, in a series of tweets, claimed that he was "brutally raped" by a teenage neighbor when he was just 5 years old.

The actor claimed that he and his 14-year-old neighbor were hanging out when he asked Quaid to go into the bathroom.

Taking it to Twitter, the 'Midnight Express' claimed the boy raped him in the bathroom at his own home whilst his parents were at work, threatening to smash a bottle of rubbing alcohol over his head if he didn't do exactly what he told him to do.

He tweeted, "When I was 5 years old I was brutally raped by my next door neighbor, Rodney Lombardi(y?). He was 14. Both of Rodney's parents had jobs. So we would spend the afternoon hours together watching tv or playing croquet out in his front yard. One summer day in 1956 I went over to Rodney's house to see if he wanted to play croquet. He said we could if I would go into the bathroom. I remember thinking this was an odd request, but I complied. He followed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind us. He told me to pull down my pants and underwear. Even at five years old I knew something wasn't right what he was asking and I told him I wanted to leave. I started to cry, begging him to let me go. He reached in the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol (they were made of glass in those days), and held it like a weapon above his head in a threatening gesture."

He also explained how he thought the trauma led to him pursuing an acting career.

"Immersing myself in a character is a means of channeling the rage, removing me from myself essentially allowing me to utilise the emotional baggage that's piled up inside through the years. Many actors have experienced severe emotional trauma in their lives to one degree or another. For us, acting is more than just a career, it's a way of coping, a welcomed survival mechanism," noted Quaid.

He said a policeman who lived across the street rushed over and went to the teen's house with Quaid's mother and waited for his parents to get home.

The actor went on to claim that he continued to be taken advantage of by "Hollywood predators."

The actor ended his tweets by declaring it's "time to drain the Hollywood swamp" and "get rid of these creeps".

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First Published: Nov 03 2017 | 9:37 AM IST

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