Michael Egan, 32, had charged former Disney executive David Neuman for sexual assault, and then dropped the charges. However, Egan is now re-filing the case. Additionally, he has made some changes to his accusation.

In April, Egan held a news conference to publicly claim that Neuman molested him, several times, when he was a teenager. According to him, these incidents took place at pool parties in L.A. and on vacation in Hawaii. That same month Egan also accused director Bryan Singer and other Hollywood executives of sexual abuse.

Subsequently, Egan’s lawyer, Jeff Herman, filed the lawsuit in Hawaii. In California, the law stipulates that a person can press charges of childhood sexual assault up to the age of 26 which is 8 years after no longer being a minor. Therefore, Egan went to Hawaii to make these claims. Legislation has passed in Hawaii which allows victims of childhood sexual abuse to file charges after the normal statute of limitations has passed.

Egan was only able to press these charges if he declared that some of the accused abuse took place in Hawaii. Nevertheless, Egan signed a 2000 disposition in which he had sworn that he never had been in that state.

Without any warning Egan dropped the case last week. This can largely be attributed to the fact that Egan’s signed declaration from 2003 surfaced. In this document, Egan declares that Neuman was never inappropriate to him. In response, Egan claims that he signed this declaration “under fear, threats, and duress.” When he signed this document in 2003, Egan had also been making similar allegations against 3 other men.

Egan’s other charges were against another 3 members of Digital Entertainment Network’s (DEN) board. These defendants included Marc Collins-Rector, Chad Shackley, and Brock Piece. Charges against Pierce were all dropped, Collins-Rector was found guilty of transporting minors across state lines in a separate case.

According to TMZ, Egan now filed a lawsuit that primarily focuses on his allegations which occurred at the L.A. pool parties. In his lawsuit he refers to Neuman as “John Doe”, exempting his name from the case. Nevertheless, he still extensively describes Neuman, referring to his specific position at Disney.

Currently, Egan’s new allegation also asserts that Neuman paid Egan a certain amount of money during and after the assault incidents. In the document of Egan’s declaration, he argues that the payment consolidated for his sexual abuse with “partial or advance damages.”

Egan claims that the abuse caused repression of memories that had only resurfaced around Jun. of 2013. The complaint says, “Through trauma therapy and quitting alcohol abuse. Plaintiff challenged his maladaptive defense mechanisms. This allowed Plaintiff to finally recognize the childhood sexual abuse by Defendant DOE and how it contributed to the severe psychological and emotional injuries for which he was suffering.”

In this complaint, psychologist Frederick Stampler asserts that there is reasonable evidence to believe that Egan could have repressed his memories. This statement will certainly aid Egan’s case as he may be able to avoid California’s standard statute of limitations. As of 2003, California has employed leeway with such cases allowing charges for 3 years following the re-emergence of memories.

Still, Neuman’s lawyer views Egan’s actions as a “shakedown of an innocent man.”

Photo: TMZ