The former nanny of Rob Lowe says he had sexually abused her over a number of years, yet she still didn't quit, citing her love for his children and the need for the job.
What the nanny, Jessica Gibson, describes as the abuse was being touched a few times inappropriately from September 2005 through January 2008.
"I always thought it would be different when I went back, but it was not," Gibson said in a lawsuit. "I stayed as long as I did because of the children and because I needed a job."
Lowe struck the first blow legally, filing a lawsuit against Gibson, claiming she was attempting to shake him down for $1.5 million in return for her remaining silent about the alleged abuse. Lowe's lawyer called the accusations "outrageous" and "untrue."
Interview with Jessica Gibson on MSNBC
Gibson has retained high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred, who makes frequent appearances on a number of news and talk shows.
Allred said about Lowe's suit against her client that "They may have thought their pre-emptive strike would intimidate our client. I can assure them it will not."
Gibson filed a countersuit against Lowe on Monday, which seeks an unknown amount of damages.
This is a strange situation, in that Gibson loses a lot of credibility in sticking around for years while supposedly being abused by Lowe. And the idea that she stuck around because she "loved his children" is strange, to say the least. They already had their mom with them. There are a lot of children of wealthy people in the Santa Barbara she could have "loved."
On Lowe's part, his know substance abuse in the past, along with disgrace over a homemade porn movie with two girls, one which was underage, years ago, could show a pattern to his behavior.
Lowe didn't need this at a time when the public in general was forgetting his past mistakes, and it seemed he was turning things around.
No matter what happens in all this, Lowe is already the loser. If he is found innocent, there is the perception and tie-in to his past that will linger in the conscience of the public. If he loses, the skeletons from his closet will emerge again, with people questioning his integrity and if he has really changed.
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