CNN
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Authorities in New York City are investigating a rape allegation against actor Devin Ratray, who is best known for playing his brother in “Home Alone,” CNN has learned.
Ratray, who denied the allegation in a phone call with CNN, is now facing domestic violence charges stemming from an unrelated Oklahoma incident last December involving his girlfriend when that’s his. He has pleaded not guilty in that case and will have an upcoming hearing in October.
It was news of Ratray’s arrest in Oklahoma that led Lisa Smith to contact prosecutors about a police report she filed in 2017, alleging the actor raped her in New York City. . She wanted to know why her case was not pursued. She said prosecutors incorrectly believed she wanted to remain anonymous and did not want to press charges. As a result, the case was closed, she said she was informed.
Smith, who has also reached out to CNN, said she is “devastated” that authorities have not been able to fully investigate her allegations when she initially made them. She provided emails suggesting the case was closed even though she took steps to cooperate with the investigation, traveling out of state to be interviewed by investigators at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. and then provide the clothes she was wearing on the night of the alleged crime. attack to be able to test DNA.
New York police declined to answer CNN’s questions about their handling of the case. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office confirmed they were “in contact” with Smith but declined to discuss the handling of the case. Emails reviewed by CNN show that a prosecutor recently contacted Smith for information, searched phone and text messages, and contacted potential witnesses.
Ratray has not been charged in connection with Smith’s allegations.
When contacted by CNN in a phone call last week, Ratray, 45, said he recalled an evening with Smith nearly five years ago, but denied the allegation of raping her. “We don’t have sex,” he said.
An attorney for Ratray did not respond to an emailed request for comment by CNN.
Ratray, who played Macaulay Culkin bullying his brother in both the 1990 film “Home Alone” and its 1992 sequel, has had a long acting career. He has appeared in many movies and TV shows, including an episode of “Better Call Saul” last month.
Smith told CNN that she had been friends with the actor for about 15 years before allegedly assaulting on September 21, 2017. On that night, she said, she met her brother, another friend. and Ratray at a bar in New York City. The group then went to Ratray’s Manhattan apartment for another drink.
Ratray poured drinks for his friends, Smith said, but he seemed intent on giving her a specific one. Immediately after drinking, Smith said she was exhausted and Ratray encouraged her to stay and sleep on his couch.
She said she believed she was drugged.
“I remember waking up and I couldn’t move. I can’t really open my eyes, but I can hear what’s happening and I can feel what’s happening. I know that the other two are gone and I’m still on the couch,” Smith said.
Ratray sexually assaulted her because it felt like “forever,” she alleged.
Finally he left her alone on the couch. It was around 2 p.m. the next day, when Smith was able to move enough to throw her clothes and get out of the apartment, she said.
Smith said she initially did not want to report the rape allegations because she had been assaulted by another man before and felt badly treated by the police when she filed a complaint and filed an audit. rape investigation. An NYPD source confirmed to CNN that Smith had issued a previous report.
The day after Ratray allegedly assaulted her, Smith told a friend, sister and one of her brothers about what had happened. All three confirmed to CNN that Smith confided in them about the incident at the time. Her brother told CNN he carried guilt for letting his sister sleep on Ratray’s couch. Smith’s sister and two of her friends also confirmed that a district attorney recently contacted them about the case.
The day after the alleged assault, Smith contacted Ratray via a text message to confront him. Ratray denied the attack via text message, she said. Smith no longer texted, but copies of the purported messages were in a separate text exchange between Smith and her sister, a copy of which was reviewed by CNN.
Ratray sought to treat the incident as a consensual encounter, as described by Smith in his reply, but said he was unable to have sex because he was “impotent”.
Weeks after the alleged assault, Smith – who had moved to Utah – said a friend encouraged her to file a police report, which she did.
An NYPD detective flew to Salt Lake City to interview her in November 2017. In the detective’s report, which he filed on January 4, he checked a box that said Smith did not want to prosecute. However, after that report was filed, Smith said she flew to New York to meet with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for an interview.
Smith said she never heard from the DA after flying to see them less than two months after being interviewed by the NYPD. She told CNN this left her “sad” and “confused” by the lack of further contact.
In the fall of 2018, nearly a year after Smith first reported her assault to the NYPD, she said she came across a locker with the outfit she wore on the night of the alleged crime. assault, especially the sweater she was wearing that she wore. believe there may be DNA evidence on it. She told the NYPD detective about her discovery and mailed it to him. She received no news from the detective after she sent him the clothes.
When contacted by CNN, the detective who first met Smith declined to comment.
Smith pointed to her efforts in assisting the investigation as evidence that she wanted to prosecute her assailant.
“Why did I meet the DA in the first place, years ago, if I wasn’t ready to press charges?… This made me very uncomfortable,” she said.
After Ratray was arrested for domestic violence last year, Smith said a friend emailed her news stories about the case. She said reading his name in the headlines motivated her to contact authorities and CNN.
“Watching him get accused of assault made me realize that I needed to do whatever I could to keep him from hurting more women,” she said.
In May, Smith said she met with a prosecutor from the Sex Crimes Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, who she said apologized for the way her case was handled.
Prosecutors told Smith that she “should at least have been able to provide counseling to victims in previous years,” she said. “When she said I started crying when I realized that this was the first time anyone had acknowledged how deeply affected I was, or that I was traumatized.”
