Voice actor Daman Mills has been accused of sexual misconduct by an Ohio man, who says he was just 15 when he met the actor.
UPDATE: The accuser has since retracted their allegations and now states that their original story and the screenshots used to support it were completely fabricated. Details here.
WARNING: DETAILS DESCRIBING SEXUAL ASSUALT FOLLOW
As reported by Anime News Network, the alleged victim, who has asked to be referred to only as "Duncan" in order to protect his identity, has accused Mills of repeatedly molesting him between the years of 2014 and 2015. According to Duncan, Mills originally befriended him in 2012, when Duncan was 15 years old and the voice actor was 20. According to Duncan, Mills tried repeatedly to initiate a romantic relationship with him, but he insisted on keeping the relationship platonic. "I tried to be as nice as possible, while also stating I did not feel the same, but didn't want it to affect our friendship. He continued to talk to me every day, texting me constantly. Getting angry and emotionally attacking me if I did not respond as quickly as he did. He would often bring up that he felt sexually and emotionally attached to me; all of these things I would try to avoid," Duncan wrote in a public statement that documents his history with Mills.
In the statement, Duncan states that Mills got physical with him when he was just 16 years old. "I awoke that night to him heavily wrapped against me... I felt confused and outraged. This man I had been vulnerable to, taking advantage of my trust," he wrote. Duncan alleges that Mills fondled him on multiple occasions, and once he awoke to find Mills masturbating next to him. "I was so alarmed, that it took me a couple days to bring this up to him. He then admitted to me that he had been pleasuring himself in my bed. He also told me he would get-off to the idea of me a lot," Duncan stated. The alleged victim also states that on his 17th birthday, Mills spent "hours" trying to pressure Duncan into giving him oral sex.
These incidents are said to have taken place in the state of Ohio, where the age of consent is 16.
Duncan told ANN that he is coming forward after several years in order to encourage other victims of sexual abuse to speak out. "I'm just trying to get this story out there because this did happen. As unbiased as I can be, this all did happen to me and when things like this happen, people should feel comfortable speaking up about it," he said.
Mills has sent Duncan a cease and desist letter for the public document, and has previously stated that he believes the relationship between him and Duncan was mutual and consensual. The actor has stated that on the advice of his legal counsel, he will not comment further on the allegations. Mills is best known for providing the English voices of Frieza in Dragon Ball Super and Kaworu Nagisa in Evangelion 3.0 + 1.01. He also portrayed the villain Weiss in Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Episode Intermission.
If you are a U.S.-based victim of sexual assault or misconduct in need of help, contact RAINN at 800-656-4673to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. If you are based outside the U.S., click here for a list of international sexual assault resources.