Five more men have accused Gary Goddard, 63, of molesting boys he worked with as a theater producer in the 1970s
Five more former child actors have accused producer Gary Goddard of molesting them or trying to molest them when they were children.
All of the men spoke to The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday to describe how Goddard abused them or attempted to in Santa Barbara in the 1970s.
Four say they were abused by Goddard and one, Linus Huffman, said he had to rebuff the producer’s advances.
Their claims follow a November 10 Medium article by actor Anthony Edwards, now 55, in which he accused Goddard, 63, of molesting him and others when they were children.
Two other men – Bret Nighman and Mark Driscoll – also claim Goddard was predatory towards young boys.
It brings the total number of men who have accused him of misconduct to eight. A ninth man, Scott Drnavich, is said to have told several people Goddard abused him as a child before he died in 1997.
Goddard’s spokesman Sam Singer, who ‘unequivocally’ denied Edwards’ claims on his behalf last month, said the new accusations were based on hearsay and innuendo.
‘If it were possible to prove a negative, Mr. Goddard would debate these 40-year-old allegations.
‘Since that is not possible he will not respond other than to repeat his previous categorical denial.
‘Mr. Goddard is at a loss to understand the attacks that have been made full of innuendo and hearsay.
‘How does one respond to people who were not involved, yet who now think back 40 years to something, and then assign their own meaning today without knowing all of the facts?’ Singer told DailyMail.com in a statement.
Many of the men did not wish to be named. They said much of the abuse occurred during a 1978 production of Peter Pan which Goddard led (above).
Mark Driscoll has claimed in the past that Goddard abused him when they worked together (above) when he was a child and Goddard was in his 20s
Anthony Edwards spoke out in November to allege Goddard of molesting him repeatedly when he was a boy. They are pictured when Edwards was a young teenager and Goddard was in his early 20s
Among the new allegations is that Goddard unzipped one boy’s sleeping bag to fondle him during an overnight stop on their Peter Pan tour. Another claimed he masturbated him on a drive home from Disneyland.
A third said he was subjected to ‘aggressive kissing’ over several years and a fourth said he was made to sleep in the same bed as the man during trips to Florida.
He claims Goddard masturbated him when during those overnight visits.
Linus Huffman, who acted in some of Goddard’s plays, said he was able to escape his advances.
‘He pulled me aside and put his hands on my legs and went, ‘I’m very proud of you,’ and was going towards my crotch area,’ he recalled.
‘He claimed he ran away by telling him he had a show to do.
Mark Driscoll, who says Goddard abused him over a period of three years, and Bret Nighman, who says he had to rebuff the man four times by the time he was 16, spoke out after Edwards last month,
Scott Drnavich (left as a boy) told several people Goddard abused him before he died in 1997. Bret Nighman (right as a teenager) said he had to fight Goddard to stop him from getting into his bed during one theater tour
Driscoll (L), Edwards (C) and Nighman (R) all spoke out against Goddard last month
One on occasion, Nighman said Goddard rubbed his crotch and thigh and forced him to do it back to him.
The boys were referred to as ‘The Goddardites’ and spent weeks at a time working with the producer on plays.
They say he abused them by touching them inappropriately on darkened Disneyland rides and that they were afraid to be left alone with him in the car.
The men said they were lured into trusting Goddard who was a ‘mentor’ to them all.
‘He was kind of magical and exciting,’ Nighman said, adding that he would later become ‘the most important person’ in his life.
During a tour of their production of Peter Pan, one woman said Goddard insisted on using a room divider to separate the adults from the children but then slept on the children’s side of the room.
Barbara Costa, the woman, had been brought on to the production in a ‘mother hen’-type role to care for the children.
She said she was suspicious of how Goddard behaved around the boys who appeared to worship him.
She said she reported her concerns to the theater production company at the time but was ignored. The woman she claimed to have reported them to is now dead.
Several of the men who spoke on Wednesday chose to remain anonymous.
They revealed that their late former castmate Scott Drnavich told them Goddard had molested him when he was 15.
He died in 1997 from AIDS related illness. Singer said he had proof that Drnavich and Goddard remained in touch and on good terms before his death.
Goddard took a leave of absence from his eponymous company last month after Edwards claims emerged.
At the time, Singer said the accusations by Edwards were untrue.
‘Gary first met Anthony more than 40 years ago.
‘Gary was a mentor, teacher and a friend to Anthony, which makes this story all the more disturbing to him.
‘As to the allegations that Mr. Edwards made in his post today, I can unequivocally deny them on Gary’s behalf,’ Singer said.
Goddard took a leave of absence from The Goddard Group last month but denies the accusations