娱乐英语新闻:Steven Seagal accused of keeping sex slaves

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Actor Steven Seagal has been accused of hiring young women as personal attendants whose real job was to serve his strange and sometimes violent sexual desires.

The allegations are revealed in a civil lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles by a 23-year-old former model who describes her experience in harrowing detail.

The plaintiff, Kayden Nguyen, said she met the film star in February through an advertisement on Craigslist seeking an executive assistant. After three interviews she was told to pack for a trip to New Orleans, where the A&E show "Steven Seagal Lawman" was being recorded. On arrival she discovered that Seagal had been keeping two young female Russian "attendants" who were essentially on-call for sex, the lawsuit states.

On that first night, Nguyen was ushered to a secluded house where Seagal was staying with his wife and the two young women. He then proceeded to treat Nguyen as his "sex toy" despite her complaints, the lawsuit says. The document also alleges Seagal forced her to consume "illegal pills" and that the actor assaulted her three times before she absconded.

The lawsuit says Nguyen told Seagal that she had to leave to meet with family members who would be suspicious if she didn't show up. Nonetheless, he allegedly told her not to leave the house and followed her with a gun equipped with a flashlight as she went out to a waiting cab, which sped away as she jumped in the front seat.

Calls to the star's attorney, Stuart Rosenthal, were not immediately returned Monday. It is not clear why Kayden Nguyen chose to file a civil lawsuit instead of a criminal complaint. Messages left with her lawyers were not immediately returned.

Nguyen's lawsuit claims that even after she escaped, Seagal and his employees tried desperately to persuade her to return. She is said to have left behind "everything of value" including car keys, her laptop, clothes, and "hundreds of dollars worth of makeup."

She was told she would not get the items back until she signed an agreement stating she would not report the sexual attacks, it is claimed.