Actor Jared Leto accused of sexual misconduct by 10 women, 4 allege criminal offence

A BBC documentary carries allegations from 10 women against Jared Leto, including four claims of criminal sexual conduct. The report says several accounts were backed by contemporaneous conversations, messages and photographs.

In Short

• Nine women spoke publicly for the first time in the documentary
• One woman alleged an assault in a motel bathroom aged 17
• A woman said he made explicit calls and suggested sex at 16

Actor and musician Jared Leto has been accused of sexual misconduct by 10 women, with four alleging criminal sexual offences that they say took place when they were teenagers. The allegations are detailed in the BBC documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, which features accounts from women who say they encountered the actor between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s. Leto has not responded to the allegations.

The allegations are part of a documentary, in which 10 women spoke about their experiences with the actor. Nine of them shared their accounts publicly for the first time.

According to the BBC, one woman alleged that Leto sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom when she was 17. Another claimed the actor threatened her with sexual assault when she was 19 after the two were left alone in a hotel room.

A third woman alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Leto when she was 17 in California, where the age of consent was 18 at the time. She claimed that when the subject of the law came up, Leto dismissed it.

A fourth woman alleged that Leto groomed her when she was 16 by making repeated sexually explicit phone calls and, on one occasion, suggested they have sex. She also said that she was later sent a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which she refused to sign.

The BBC said it had also spoken to four other women who described receiving unusual and often sexually explicit phone calls from Leto when they were younger.

Another woman alleged that when she was 14, Leto instructed a security guard to bring her backstage at a music festival after making a sexual remark about her during an autograph session. According to her account, when her mother confronted the actor, he allegedly repeated the comment.

The broadcaster said it corroborated several of the women's accounts through conversations with friends and family members who were told about the incidents at the time. It also reviewed photographs and messages that, it said, supported parts of the allegations.

The documentary also features two former members of Leto's band's crew, who claimed staff were uncomfortable with the actor's interactions with teenage girls. One former crew member said many people believed the age difference between Leto and the girls was inappropriate.

The BBC reported that it repeatedly contacted Leto about the allegations but received no response.

The accusations add to previous claims made against the actor. Last year, Los Angeles DJ Allie Teilz alleged on social media that Leto assaulted her when she was 17, prompting other women to come forward with similar allegations. Separately, Air Mail reported that nine women had accused the actor of sexual impropriety. Leto denied those allegations at the time.

Leto, 54, has been a prominent Hollywood actor since the 90s. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club in 2014 and has appeared in films including Fight Club, Blade Runner 2049 and Suicide Squad. He is also the lead singer of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

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