BuzzFeed reviewed the court files of Michael Egan’s first sexual assault lawsuit and found a number of strange and bewildering claims. Some seem to contradict allegations in his suit against Bryan Singer.
Michael Egan made headlines last month when he filed a detailed lawsuit in a civil court in Hawaii accusing X-Men director Bryan Singer of childhood sexual abuse. But Egan's credibility has recently come into question.
Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times / MCT
On Wednesday, Singer filed a motion asking the Hawaii court to dismiss Egan's lawsuit. The motion relies heavily on apparent contradictions between Egan's current testimony and the one he gave for another sexual assault lawsuit, filed in California 14 years ago.
The two lawsuits have different defendants and are technically independent of each other, but they both deal with claims of sexual assault among the same circle of people over roughly the same period of time. Perhaps crucially, the recent lawsuit makes mention of the defendants in the original complaint, but not the other way around. Singer's name does not appear in the 2000 file.
BuzzFeed reviewed the nearly 1,000-page long file for the 2000 lawsuit and found a series of contradictory claims and competing stories, in which almost every statement seems to have been called into question at least once.
Broadly speaking, the lawsuit alleges that a group of early Internet entrepreneurs repeatedly raped, threatened, and gave drugs to Egan and two co-plaintiffs at their mansion in Encino, Calif. Egan and company won a $4.5 million default judgment after the entrepreneurs fled the country.
The bulk of the litigation — and the source for most of what follows — comes from an attempt by Brock Pierce, one of the original defendants, to challenge the default judgment against him. Two of the three plaintiffs eventually dropped charges against Pierce. Egan apparently wanted to do so as well, according to court documents, but was prevented by his lawyer, who appears to have demanded that Pierce at least pay his fees.
In 2011, Egan filed for a renewal that would allow him to try to collect his award for 10 more years. There is no indication in the court file that any of the $4.5 million awarded to Egan and his co-plaintiffs has ever been paid.
Michael Egan: The plaintiff in the 2014 lawsuit against Singer, Egan came to Los Angeles around 1998, when he was 15 years old, to try to make it in the entertainment industry. Through a high school friend, he met a group of dot-com era executives, who threw lavish parties and allegedly enjoyed the company of young boys. It was at these parties that Egan claims he was drugged and raped by the dot-com executives — and in a more recent lawsuit, several Hollywood figures, including Bryan Singer.
Marc Collins-Rector: One of the defendants in Egan's 2000 lawsuit, Collins-Rector is a registered sex offender who in 2002 was found guilty of transporting minors across state lines in order to have sex with them. He was also the founder of Digital Entertainment Network (DEN), a firm that attracted millions from big-time investors with a plan to broadcast video over the early Internet. After a number of young men filed sexual assaults lawsuits against him, the entrepreneur fled the country and was arrested in Spain in 2002. He was released from prison in 2004, has since renounced his American citizenship, and has vanished from the public eye.
Chad Shackley: Another defendant in Egan's 2000 lawsuit, Shackley was a co-founder of DEN and Collins-Rector's longtime lover. He allegedly participated in the assaults against Egan. He was arrested in Spain with Collins-Rector but was released without charges.
Brock Pierce: The third and last defendant in Egan's 2000 lawsuit, Pierce is a former child actor who worked as a vice president for DEN. He allegedly also participated in the assaults against Egan, who accused him in particular of providing him with drugs. Pierce was arrested in Spain with Collins-Rector, but was also released without charges. He has since reinvented himself as a bitcoin entrepreneur and vigorously denies all wrongdoing.
Alex Burton: Egan's co-plaintiff in the 2000 lawsuit, Burton played Pyro in the first X-Men film, which Singer directed at the same time Egan's recent allegations are said to have taken place. Several documents in the court file describe him as Pierce's "childhood friend." He has since changed his name and left the country.
Mark Ryan: Egan and Burton's co-plaintiff in the 2000 lawsuit, Ryan was not underage when the alleged assaults occurred. Court documents suggest that he returned to his native Ohio, where he works as a firefighter.
Mel Berman: A cook and household staffer at the DEN executives' mansion, where the assaults allegedly took place. He was deposed under oath as a part of Pierce's attempt to reverse the default judgment against him.
Bryan Singer: One of the defendants in Egan's 2014 lawsuits, Singer is a successful Hollywood director. He was an early investor in DEN and allegedly attended parties at the mansion where the abuses are supposed to have taken place. He is openly bisexual and has a history of associating with young-looking men, but denies all allegations that he ever raped anyone or molested underaged boys.
David Neuman: A defendant in a parallel 2014 sexual assault lawsuit filed by Egan, Neuman is a TV executive who had a top role at DEN. He denies all allegations against him and filed a motion to dismiss the suit on May 15.
Garth Ancier: A defendant in another 2014 lawsuit by Egan, Ancier is a media executive who has worked for Fox, NBC, and other networks. He denies all wrongdoing.
Gary Goddard: The fourth and final defendant in Egan's recent lawsuits, Goddard is a producer and theme park executive. He denies all allegations against him and filed a motion to dismiss the suit against him on Thursday, according to a statement from his attorney.
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