An X-Men actor convicted of raping a young Nickelodeon child star is STILL working with underage kids at the Disney–ABC Television Group.
Brian Peck served 16 months in prison after admitting two counts of raping a child actor at the television network. He was charged with eight counts of sexual abuse, including abuse ‘by anesthesia or controlled substance’.
Since his release from prison, he has worked on various Disney/ABC shows with underage actors.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Dailymail.co.uk reports: Dubbed ‘The movie Hollywood doesn’t want you to see’, An Open Secret tells the story of five victims who say they were molested as young boys trying to make it in the film business.
Peck is featured in the film, but Daily Mail Online has obtained full details of the charges which were leveled against him.
Perhaps most disturbingly, he is only prohibited from direct contact with children, not from being part of productions in which children are acting – meaning that since being convicted he has worked on a Disney show and a horror movie set in a high school.
He played a ‘Sex Ed Teacher’, according to the movie’s credits.
Peck, 54, was convicted in 2004 Peck was convicted of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16.
In court documents obtained by Daily Mail Online the victim is only named as John Doe, to protect his identity.
The child did not want his identity revealed for fear of it having a negative affect on his career.
Peck had been coaching the youngster in acting at his home when the offenses happened and was only arrested after the budding actor’s parents reported him to police.
The documents show Peck was originally charged with 11 counts including: lewd act upon a child; sodomy of a person under 16; attempted sodomy of a person under 16; sexual penetration by foreign object; four counts of oral copulation of a person under 16; oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance; sending harmful matter; and using a minor for sex acts.
In the end he pleaded ‘no contest’ to two counts – lewd act against a child and oral copulation – and the court found him guilty of both. The remaining counts were dismissed.
Count two says Peck: ‘Willfully, unlawfully, and lewdly commit a lewd and lascivious act upon and with the body of John Doe, who was 15 years old, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, and gratifying the lust, passions, and sexual desires of the defendant, who was at least 10 years older than John Doe.’
Count six says Peck: ‘Did unlawfully, being over the age of 21 years, participate in an act of oral copulation with John Doe, a person under the age of sixteen years.’
An Open Secret names Peck as one of several abusers who have worked in Hollywood and features interviews with victims who bravely spoke out about what happened to them.
However, its credibility has been questioned because one of the five men is Michael Egan – who later withdrew four lawsuits against Hollywood bigwigs including Bryan Singer. Peck’s victim is not featured in An Open Secret although the film highlights his case.
Peck was convicted in October 2004 and sentenced to 16 months in jail but after completing his sentence returned to Hollywood and resumed his work as an actor and dialogue coach.
According to IMDB he has worked on several children’s shows since he got out.
He also worked alongside director Bryan Singer – himself the subject of a sex abuse lawsuit, which was dropped, and for which the lawyer who brought it has now apologized – on X-Men and X-Men 2 before his arrest.
Peck also appears on the X-Men 1.5 DVD commentary.
According to his IMDB page, Peck worked on Disney show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody in 2006-07.
He also played a role of a ‘Sex Ed Teacher’ in a 2009 short horror movie called Queerantine set in a high school.
He is listed as a dialogue coach on 2010 children’s movie Jack and the Beanstalk, which starred Chevy Chase.
And more recently he is listed as a dialogue coach on 22 episodes of Charlie Sheen’s comedy series Anger Management.
Speaking about his friendship with Sheen in a 2012 interview with website Love Horror, the apparently well-connected Peck said: ‘Currently I am working with Charlie Sheen as a dialog coach on his new sitcom Anger Management, we are having a blast and I adore Charlie.’
It is not known whether the makers of any of these movies or shows were aware of Peck’s convictions although information about his crimes is easily accessible.
Perhaps most bizarrely, Peck’s profile on IMDB even says: ‘Registered Sex Offender’.
Peck is a cult figure in the horror movie world after being the only actor to appear in Return of the Living Dead 1, 2 and 3.
Daily Mail Online photographed the actor heading into a Hollywood costume store where he did a sit down interview with niche magazine Gore Noir about his role in the movies.
Danna Kelley, 35, a shop worker at Monster-A-Gogo, said the actor is also regular at horror fan conventions.
She said: ‘He’s a cult figure. I know that he does horror conventions like Monsterpalooza at the Burbank Hilton, that’s really what he talked about the most, autographs and such for Return of the Living Dead.’
Danna had no idea about Peck’s convictions and when made aware of them, she added: ‘If I had known that I would have thought of him completely different.
‘He wouldn’t be the first one, there’s so many, it’s just horrible. I’m sure not many people know about that.
‘I’m sure if these events [the conventions] knew, they wouldn’t want that stigma attached to them.
‘He shouldn’t be allowed around children, period.’
Daily Mail Online confronted Peck at his Los Angeles home and asked if he had seen An Open Secret or if he has plans to, he said: ‘No I haven’t. I don’t plan on it.’
Asked if he had an opinion on his abuse being a subject of the movie, he said: ‘I don’t have any comment on it.’
And asked if he thinks he should still be allowed to work in Hollywood, he said: ‘I’ve no comment about it.’
Asked finally is he was sorry to the actor he abused, he said: ‘I don’t have any comment on it, I really don’t.’
Anne Henry, who runs the non-profit BizParents which helps families of children in the industry, and whose research formed much of the basis of An Open Secret, said Peck’s sex offending and ability to return to the industry highlighted the need for enhanced protection for children in Hollywood.
‘Brian Peck’s actual sex offender conviction of a child actor was related to a show which was on Nickelodeon,’ she said.
‘I applaud that child. It is rare that a child of that stature would prosecute because they understandably fear for their career.
‘I think he handled it incredibly well, managing to cover his identity to this day.’
Due to campaigning by BizParents, the state of California passed the Child Performer Protection Act in 2012 – but, as it stands, registered sex offenders are still allowed to work in Hollywood without difficulty.
She said: ‘The law applies to people who have direct contact with children, so Brian Peck would no longer be allowed to coach a child actor as he did in the conviction.
‘Before 2012 this was legal and I would say he [Peck] is one of the top three reasons for the law’s existence because we could see this was a bad thing.
‘He could, however, still work on set as an actor or crew member.
‘In California there’s another law that the parents must be in sight or sound of the minor at all times on set.
‘He’s still allowed to work on sets with children on them because crews are exempt (from checks) and because the parents are supposed to be there. That’s the safety net.’
For Henry and other campaigners the current safeguards are not enough.
She said: ‘For me as a mum I’m horrified that he’s allowed to work in our industry at all. I don’t care where he goes but he shouldn’t be in our industry.
‘I wish that Hollywood had more moral fiber and would police itself and not allow people with those kind of criminal records to work.’
Henry added she thinks Peck relies on favors from pals in the movie business to get his roles, saying: ‘He was an actor then became a dialogue coach. It’s the person who gets the kids ready, makes sure their lines are together.
‘It’s the kind of job title you might give a friend you were trying to give employment too.’
She called on Peck to quit the industry, adding: ‘People [convicted of such crimes] kind of go under the radar but not Brian Peck. He’s still working on camera. It’s a complete scandal.’
Executive producer of An Open Secret Matthew Valentinas, a Boston lawyer, has also spoken out about the lack of regulation in Hollywood. He told Elle magazine: ‘Animals have more protection and rights on a film set than children do.’
An Open Secret struggled to land a distribution deal because it paints the industry in a bad light. Executive producer Gabe Hoffman told website Deadline last month: ‘We went to everybody and anybody at all the biggest companies and got turndowns everywhere’.
However it finally landed a deal with Rocky Mountain Pictures and Vesuvio Entertaiment and went on a 20 city US theatrical release which began in Denver and Seattle on June 5.
Henry hopes it can make a similar impact to Sea World expose Blackfish.
She added: ‘In my dream world I would like this to be as big as Blackfish, where everybody just knows and it becomes common knowledge. If that happens predators wouldn’t be in our industry they would go somewhere else where there was less scrutiny and less of a light shone on them.’
Sean Adl-Tabatabai
But hey this is better then allowing a cast member to tell a joke and let them get away with it. Lets use collective punishment and fire an entire cast and crew to prove we care.
He probably did his internship at DisneyWorld.
a few months for rape???? hang his ass
Should we be surprised?