Timothy Hutton denies Canadian’s accusation that he raped her in 1983

Ordinary People star Timothy Hutton has released a statement denying claims he raped a 14-year-old girl in 1983.

The Oscar winner has been accused of sexually assaulting Canadian model Sera Johnston when she was a teenager, in a Vancouver hotel room, while he was shooting the movie Iceman.

Johnston told Buzzfeed Hutton forced himself on her while his friend watched, but the actor said this is the latest in a line of extortion attempts over the past two years.

“I have been the target of multiple extortion attempts by a woman named Sera Dale Johnston to extract millions of dollars from me,” he writes. “She threatened that if I did not meet her demands, she would go to the press with a false allegation that I sexually assaulted her 37 years ago in Canada. I never assaulted Ms. Johnston.

“Today, Buzzfeed chose to publish Ms. Johnston’s false story. Buzzfeed knew the truth because they were provided with documented evidence. What’s really going on here is that Ms. Johnston’s extortion attempts failed. She then decided to follow through on her threat to go to the press with her false story.

“When I became aware of this, I went to the FBI, signed a sworn statement, and filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Johnston for extortion. I will not stop fighting to expose this story for what it is — a failed extortion attempt based on something that never happened.”

Hutton’s lawyer, Tom Clare, has also released a statement, insisting there was “no encounter of any kind” and “certainly no sexual assault”.

“Buzzfeed knew the truth before publication,” the attorney adds. “We will be sending Buzzfeed a legal retraction demand.”

Buzzfeed said Hutton’s representatives provided it with a wide array of material, including a 91-page letter that the representatives said could not be quoted, “meant to discredit Johnston and halt this article.” It said Hutton has retained two legal firms and three spokespeople.

Johnston told the outlet she was treated “like a doll” throughout the alleged ordeal, which she compared to being prepped for surgery. Johnston last year filed a criminal complaint with the Vancouver Police Department.

The statements from Hutton and his lawyer come hours after the actor’s new TV series, Almost Family, was cancelled after just one season.