Former Boston television news anchor Heather Unruh held a press conference on Wednesday during which she claimed that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her 18-year-old son in July 2016.
She spoke at the press conference with attorney Mitchell Garabedian, CBS Boston reports.
Unruh said her son was a "star-struck, straight, 18-year-old young man, who had no idea that the famous actor was an alleged sexual predator or that he was about to become his next victim."
She described the circumstances surrounding the assault, telling reporters the award winning actor tried to get her son drunk and then, without consent, grabbed his genitals under his pants.
"Kevin Spacey bought him drink after drink after drink. And when my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him. I want to make it clear, this was a criminal act," Unruh said.
Spacey told Unruh's son he had to go to the bathroom and invited him to an after-hours party to drink even more.
While Spacey was in the bathroom, a woman noticed something wrong and encouraged Unruh's son to run away. He did.
Unruh's son did not initially report the incident out of "embarrassment and fear," but damage from the assault continued to haunt him, according to his mother.
"It harmed him," Unruh said in tears. "And it cannot be undone. He has tried his best to deal with it. As he says, it's always there. And it continues to bother him."
Unruh said her family knew the kind of attention that would result from making an accusation about such a public person, but said "the climate in this country has changed."
"Thanks to the brave women and all sexual abuse victims who have come forward with their accusations against Harvey Weinstein and other sexual abusers, last week my son filed a police report and handed over evidence to the Nantucket Police, and now a criminal investigation has begun," Unruh announced.
Spacey has been under fire in recent weeks since actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making sexual advances toward him when he was a 14-year-old. Other men have since come forward with their own stories involving the actor. Netflix initially announced the upcoming season of its hit show "House of Cards," staring Spacey as Frank Underwood, would be the show's last. The company later suspended production of season six and then announced Spacey would not be involved with any further "House of Cards" production.