Woody Allen sexual abuse allegation

In August 1992, American filmmaker and actor Woody Allen was alleged by actress Mia Farrow to have sexually molested their adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow, then aged seven, in Mia Farrow's home in Bridgewater, Connecticut.^[1] Allen has repeatedly denied the allegation.^[2][3]

When the allegation was made, Allen and Mia Farrow had been in a 12-year relationship and had three children together: two adopted, Dylan and Moses, and one biological, Satchel (now known as Ronan Farrow).^[1] The sexual abuse is alleged to have taken place eight months after Farrow learned that Allen had a sexual relationship with another of her adoptive daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, who went on to marry him in 1997; Previn was a first-year undergraduate and 21 years old when Farrow eventually found out about the relationship.^[4] Allen alleged that the relationship prompted Farrow to concoct the molestation allegation as an act of vengeance.^[3] The Connecticut State's Attorney investigated the allegation but did not press charges.^[5] During the investigation the Connecticut State Police referred Dylan to the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of Yale–New Haven Hospital, which concluded that Allen had not sexually abused Dylan and the allegation was probably coached or influenced by Mia Farrow.^[6][7] The New York Department of Social Services found "no credible evidence" to support the allegation.^[8]

In response to the allegation, Allen sued Farrow for sole custody of Dylan, Satchel, and Moses.^[9] He lost the case in June 1993, though the judge agreed that the allegation of sexual abuse had not been proven and the preponderance of the evidence indicated no abuse.^[10] Visitations with Dylan were to be resumed within six months, as soon as Dylan had recovered from what she had suffered during the initial custody case,^[10] while Allen was given limited, supervised visitation with Satchel; Moses, a teenager, was allowed to decide for himself.^[11][12] The decision was upheld on appeal in 1994^[13] and 1995.^[14]

Dylan has repeated the allegation several times as an adult, although with modifications of Mia's 1992 narrative.^[15][16] Her first public comment was in an interview with Maureen Orth for Vanity Fair in 2013,^[17] followed by an open letter in the New York Times in 2014^[18] and a Los Angeles Times op-ed in December 2017.^[19] Allen has also spoken publicly about the allegation, in a New York Times op-ed^[3] and in 2018 in a statement to CBS News, each time denying it.^[20] Mia is accused of child abuse by two of her children, Moses^[21] and Soon-Yi,^[22] who also accuse her of false allegations and of "brainwashing" Dylan. In a 2018 letter, Moses, who felt in charge of carefully watching Dylan the afternoon she was allegedly molested and who was 14 at the time, explains in detail why he believes the allegation is false and describes his forced support of Mia as the biggest mistake of his life.^[21] He tweeted, "So many times I saw my mother try to convince her that she was abused—and it has worked."^[23]