Home United States USA — Cinema 'Dukes of Hazzard' star Tom Wopat charged with assaulting 16-year-old girl

'Dukes of Hazzard' star Tom Wopat charged with assaulting 16-year-old girl

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Tom Wopat is charged with assaulting the girl while rehearsing for a stage production in Waltham, Mass.
Tom Wopat, the former star of The Dukes of Hazzard, the 1980s TV sitcom about good ol’ boys eluding the law, is in trouble again on indecent assault charges.
Already accused of groping an adult female cast member of a musical he was supposed to appear in, he now faces charges he indecently assaulted a 16-year-old girl also in the cast of 42nd Street .
Court records show Wopat, 66, is charged with assaulting the girl and the woman in July while rehearsing for the musical at the Waltham, Mass.-based Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston.
The Boston Globe reported the new charges were made public Tuesday, after they were first reported by TMZ, which quoted police records .
The records show police interviewed the teen two weeks after Wopat was arrested and arraigned on charges of indecent assault and battery and drug possession in connection with an encounter with the adult cast member.
According to the police report, Wopat allegedly poked the girl in her stomach with his finger and hit her buttocks with his script, saying, “Nice butt.”
He allegedly told the girl, “I’m a creepy old man, you’re really talented and really cute,” according to the police report.
The police report also describes an exchange between Wopat and the teen about his alleged hovering outside the door to the female dressing room, which was recorded on video.
So far, neither Wopat’s publicist nor his attorney have responded to requests for comment about the latest charges.
Wopat is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 24 on the new charges of indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or over, and two counts of accosting or annoying another person, court records show.
In August, Wopat pleaded not guilty to groping the adult female cast member, was released on $1,000 bond and told to stay away from her. He issued a statement at the time saying he “firmly denies any wrongdoing.”
His statement also said he would be taking time to “address his ongoing struggle with substance abuse.”
As a result of his arrest and arraignment, Wopat was forced to bow out permanently from the local production of 42nd Street; he had been scheduled to open the show the night he was arraigned.
Wopat, who played Luke Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard, has worked steadily since Dukes on TV, on stage and in music, including performing in 42nd Street for years on Broadway and in regional theaters.
Contributing: The Associated Press

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